So Far Away
by Icy AngelWings
Summary: One vision...a new companion...one undecided future. When Sanzo has a vision from the gods, he and the others must find their new companion, but how will this new companion affect them and what mysteries does she hold? Review for review. Chp 13 up.
1. Vision

Chapter 1

_Vision_

The small room had finally gone quiet, nothing but the wind outside could be heard, but someone still lay awake, his thoughts wandering over and over.

As he sat up and started reloading his Banishing Gun, Sanzo couldn't brush off a mysterious feeling deep inside his mind, like something missing, or something was wrong.

'It's been half a year now,' he thought to himself as he examined each bullet before placing in the holster of the small gun. 'Only half a year and we're not one damn step closer to killing that bastard Kougaiji!'

He turned around to the dresser and grabbed a cigarette from the packet, then took a long drag before throwing it out the window in frustration.

"What's this hatred coming from?" he wondered to himself quietly as he gazed out at the starry sky, but started feeling drowsy after a few minutes.

Even though he rarely slept, he let his head sink into the fluffy pillow, falling asleep as soon as his head fell completely into the pillow.

(Dream Sequence)

Darkness embraced him like a dark, thick blanket that he couldn't shake off, and the silence choked him as if it was a deadly poison. But then he heard three faint whispers calling his name in the distance, the voices sounding familiar.

'Who's there?' Sanzo called out, and then shielded his eyes from the bright light that surrounded him, and then after another minute or so, Sanzo removed his hand to see the three floating heads of the gods before him, he instantly bowed before them.

'Ah Genjo Sanzo, I see you're well,' the woman god on the left said, smiling at him.

'How is your mission progressing?' the man in the middle asked.

'Not so well my Lord,' Sanzo replied quietly, looking up at the three gods above him.

'We have come to you Genjo Sanzo, because a change in destiny is at hand,' the old man began, taking a deep breath the continued. 'It is time for another companion to join you in your journey to the West. She will help you fulfill your quest. Look down below you.'

Sanzo looked down beneath him and a picture of a young girl appeared instantly.

The girl looked like she was up to his shoulder in height, waist length chocolate brown hair, dark crystal eyes, pointed ears visible beneath her hair, she was wearing outfit that almost similar to his but instead her black skirt had a slit from the knee down, black flat shoes that laced around the leg, and a white kimono style shirt with the sleeves cut in half on the sides, and also three power limiters were worn tightly around her neck.

'Her name is Kakera, a mysterious girl with many abilities and traits, some that you might find familiar. Find her soon and don't let her do anything she won't regret. She is important to the future of all, Sanzo!'

Sanzo bowed respectfully and slowly stood up as the image of the Kakera disappeared.

'I understand your request, I shall find my new companion and fulfill my mission,' he told them calmly, but started to feel himself being drawn back to reality.

'Go now Genjo Sanzo and Godspeed to you!' the three gods said, and Sanzo watched the three gods fade further into the darkness; their last words only a soft whisper. 'Fate will bring her to you.'

Sanzo woke up with a start to see that the room had grown colder from leaving the window open. He looked to see if anyone was awake, but the others were fast asleep, except that Hakkai wasn't present among them.

"Must've gone for another walk," he reminded himself, shutting the window and went back to reloading his gun like before. When he had finished, Hakkai had silently entered the room. He walked over to his bed next to Sanzo's, but saw that something was troubling him.

"Rough night I assume?" Hakkai asked curiously, waiting patiently for the priest to answer him.

"Not entirely, it's nothing important," Sanzo answered, setting the gun on the windowsill then sighed deeply.

"I'll say nothing more, goodnight then," Hakkai whispered, then turned on his side and fell asleep.

For the remaining night hours, Sanzo replayed the vision over and over again in his mind, but still didn't understand why he and the others needed another companion, especially a woman.

'Great, another person to baby-sit,' he told his wandering mind, suddenly feeling drowsy again. Without a second thought, he plopped his head back onto the pillow again and was out like a light in no time.

"Why did we leave so early guys? I'm hungry and tired!" Goku complained loudly, his stomach letting out another loud growl.

"Quit complaining or we'll just leave you right here and now!" Gojyo snarled at him, whacking him with his shakujo staff as usual.

"What was that for, dumb elf?"

"I'm so damn tired of your complaining, THAT'S WHY!"

A gunshot was heard from the front, and Gojyo and Goku went silent, knowing Sanzo was angry over them arguing again.

"One more word out of both you and I'll make sure you eat nothing but lead till the next town!" the priest warned the two demons in back, so all went quiet after a while.

"You're more uptight then usual, what's bothering you?" Hakkai asked, smiling at his companion next to him.

Sanzo sighed in frustration, knowing Hakkai wasn't going stop worrying. He put away his gun and lit another cigarette before explaining, the rush of nicotine calming down his fuming senses.

"The gods came to me last night, and told me that we need to find another companion," he started through clenched teeth. "Her name is Kakera, a human with strange demon abilities. She can fight like us, but she's important to our mission. We have to find her within the next few days; otherwise we won't get a step closer to killing Kougaiji and his demon team."

'Killing Kougaiji? What's up with him?' Goku wondered. 'Where's this hatred coming from?'


	2. Suspicion

Chapter 2

_Suspicion_

After much discussion about Sanzo's vision and arguing from Gojyo and Goku, a sudden rainstorm had snuck up on them before sunset had arrived. Hakuryu had changed back into his original dragon self and perched himself tiredly onto Hakkai's shoulder.

"Great now what, we're in the middle of nowhere!" Gojyo yelled to the others angrily, looking around for any hope of civilization in the thick woods.

"Look who's getting upset now?" Goku shot sarcastically.

"SHUT UP, NO ONE ASKED YOU!" Gojyo snapped.

"QUIET BOTH OF YOU!" Sanzo yelled as he fired another gunshot that barely both the demon's heads, then he put his gun away before giving them a death glare that made them back off. "Let's just keep going, and I don't want to hear a word from both of you or I WILL shoot both of you, and I don't care if we complete our mission or not!"

All was quiet after Sanzo's words, then the four started walking in the direction of where they were headed in the pouring rain, but the three demons didn't dare say a word to the pissed off priest.

Night had fallen a few hours later and the rain had lessened when the four had reached the end of the woods to see a large deserted town, with a temple at the top of the hill behind the city.

"Maybe everyone took refuge inside for the night," Gojyo guessed as they looked around, but no lights were visible from any windows, so they guessed something was wrong.

"Goku and Gojyo, you two check the end of the town for anyone, Sanzo and I will check the front of the city," Hakkai suggested, and everyone agreed as they split up.

The end of the town was darker, colder and the rain still poured roughly as Goku and Gojyo inspected every house and business building at a time.

The two entered the town's saloon to see it dark, and no one inside but mugs of beer, guns, and playing cards were scattered around the tables and the floor, but the demons couldn't figure out what had happened.

"Doesn't look like there was a killing here, everything looks normal, no trace of blood or anything," Gojyo whispered as he checked the upper floor, but found nothing but neatly made beds and supply closets.

"The kitchen and the counter looks normal too, do you think Hakkai and Sanzo found anything?" Goku wondered as he checked under the tables, and then suddenly jumped up. "GOJYO, GET OVER HERE!"

The red haired demon was downstairs in a second and saw Goku pointing to underneath the table, and he was shocked of what he saw the character symbolizing SPELL was painted in blood.

Both checked all the tables and saw different kind of strange characters painted in blood: DEATH, DEMON, VICTIMS, PRIESTS, HELP, UPON and CITY.

"What does this all mean?" Goku whispered as he lightly touched one of the characters under one of the tables, and a cold sharp feeling ran up his spine.

The feeling only lasted a few seconds, but he could feel like something or someone was watching him and Gojyo from somewhere, and that something was approaching him.

But he just removed his hand from the blood, wiped it on his shirt and him and Gojyo walked out of the saloon to find Hakkai and Sanzo, their search had just taken on a strange beginning.

Meanwhile, Sanzo and Hakkai found nothing useful, everything had seemed normal but not one soul was around to ask information about so they gave up and walked out when they saw Gojyo and Goku run up to them.

"Find anything?" Sanzo asked.

"We found something in the saloon in the back of the town," Goku responded, feeling the cold, sharp feeling again.

"What do you mean, lead us to it," Hakkai told them, so the two demons lead Hakkai and Sanzo back to the saloon.

Hakkai took a good look at the characters written in blood, but couldn't find any link to the disappearance of the people, so he shook his head in disappointment at the three.

"It's human blood for sure, but everything else around here looks undisturbed," Hakkai answered, looking around carefully one more time, but he started getting a cold, sharp feeling as well.

"Do you sense anything Hakkai?" Sanzo asked curiously.

"It's just a feeling, probably nothing," Hakkai responded.

"Goku had the same feeling earlier the first time we were here," Gojyo spoke up, getting the other's attention.

"A cold sharp feeling?" Hakkai asked.

"Yeah, when he touched one of those characters written in blood."

"Nothing makes sense at all," Sanzo said aloud, taking out his Banishing Gun. "First: no one is around, second: everything looks like normal activity has occurred, but thirdly: we find these characters written in blood."

The four exited the saloon, greeted by the still heavy rain and now howling wind, and looked at the tall temple at the top of the hill.

"What are you thinking, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked the priest.

Sanzo was quiet for a moment as he studied the temple and realized it was another Buddhist temple, and then he started walking towards the path that lead up the hill.

"I think we should visit the temple," he replied with a serious tone, and the others followed slowly as they walked up the hill towards the quiet Buddhist temple.

When they approached the temple, they saw it was about three stories high and decorated with ancient Buddhist text on the gold and red walls, but no one could be seen anywhere.

"IS ANYONE HERE?" Hakkai called out, and they waited patiently until two bald priests in white robes came out of an entrance above the gates.

"Who goes there?" the one on the left asked with a booming voice.

"My companions are seeking shelter from this storm. May we spend the night in your temple?" Hakkai called back.

Both priests above talked to each other for a moment, and then looked down the Sanzo and the others, seeing the Holy Scripture on Sanzo's shoulders. They ran down the large, gold double doors and started to open them.

"I hope they have good food in there," Goku thought out loud, but he got smacked by Sanzo again for complaining, but no one dared to argue as they entered the temple.

"Please stay as long as you need to, we welcome you into our temple of Buddha," the first priest said as he led Sanzo, Gojyo, Hakkai and Goku to their large room at the top of the tower.

"We thank you for your hospitality," Hakkai replied to the priest as he left down the stairs, but they still had a feeling that something was strange among the priests here.

-That night-

After eating a hearty meal, the four went to the room to decide their next move, the priests here were really bothering them.

"I couldn't eat because those damn priests watched us the whole time!" Goku complained, feeling his stomach growl again for the hundredth time.

"You're right; all they did was watch our every move, as if we were a threat or something," Gojyo commented, setting his staff by his bed then joined the others at the table in the middle of the room.

"Took you guys long enough," Sanzo whispered angrily, setting his crown and gun on the table in frustration before continuing.

"He has to be hiding something, but it might be hard to crack it out of him," Hakkai wondered, then suddenly heard something a person scream bloody murder in the room.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Gojyo asked the others, grabbing his staff and looking around suspiciously.

"It sounded like it was coming from in here somewhere," Hakkai said quietly, listening intently for any sign of the scream's location.

For a while, all was silent then it came again, only more screams joined and it soon became a symphony of death around the room.

Sanzo and the others dug their hands into the thick walls, trying to find the source of the unbearable screams. It took a few minutes before the source sent shock up their spine.

Inside the walls were piles of broken up bodies with the characters from the saloon carved into their foreheads, all of them straightened up with a type of thick and sharp wire, the temple they were in was not a house of Buddha, but of a house of cold blooded slaughter.


	3. Resolution Part 1

Chapter 3

_Resolution Part 1_

"What the…how…," Gojyo muttered with disgust, mentally fighting a sudden impulse to turn around and barf out the window.

The four could only stare in sudden horror at all the dead bodies before them; secured by the demon wire: they had found the village folk.

"It appears that Sanzo was correct about the priests," Hakkai said as they all turned away and looked at Hakkai.

"Those characters written in blood were supposed to be a message to anyone who entered the village…a cry for help to stop the priests. The message clearly states: "HELP, DEMON PRIESTS UPON CITY VICTIMS," he explained.

"So someone witnessed the massacre and wrote the message to warn anyone who would enter later before he was killed too," Goku added, and Hakkai nodded.

"If that's the case then, let's silence this noise," Sanzo finally spoke as he unsheathed a hidden knife under his robe. But when Sanzo's knife reached the demon wire, it reflected the knife back at Sanzo, cutting his wrist swiftly, and then the knife fell from Sanzo's hand.

"Holy crap! That is one powerful type of demon wire!" Goku said in surprise as the demon wire now glowed a dull crimson from Sanzo's blood spurting onto the wire.

"This can't be good," Hakkai whispered.

"What the hell is it doing?" Gojyo wondered.

His question was answered when the wire suddenly sunk into the villager's bodies, and then nothing happened for a few seconds.

But suddenly, the bodies came to life. The wire was wrapped securely around the people's necks and their eyes open to reveal pure white pupils that reflected anger, and the longing of bloodshed.

"HOLY CRAP! WHAT THE-!" Gojyo jumped in surprise as the zombie villagers stepped out from their crowded chambers and walked towards their victims that awakened them.

Sanzo shot a few bullets from his Banishing Gun, but the zombies kept returning with the thread around them growing an even darker red each time they came back to life.

"How do we kill these things?" Hakkai asked he charged into the vast abyss of bodies before them, using his quick abilities to see if they had any effect.

But without any warning to Hakkai's senses, the demon wire suddenly slithered around his left leg, and then more of it bound his right leg, then midsection.

"HAKKAI!" Goku yelled.

"Can you break free?" Gojyo called to Hakkai.

"NO! FIND THE SOURCE OF THE WIRE…FAST!" Hakkai yelled back as he felt the wire tighten around his midsection and soon enough, blood was surfacing from under his torn shirt.

"Goku, Gojyo! Cover for me!" Sanzo yelled to the two fighting demons, which both demons nodded and came over to where he was standing.

Sanzo thrust his Banishing Gun before him in case the demon thread wished to take him too, but so far the thread was focused on making Hakkai like the zombie villagers. He soon found the source in the middle of the middle wall, a corpse consumed by the bloody thread. Its eyes were half open, revealing bloodshot pupils and a cruel smile.

Sanzo couldn't tell if the thing was a demon or controlled by someone else, but he fired his gun at the thing's head, but it only grew back within a few minutes, the thread pulling Hakkai closer to the corpse.

'Damn that thing's more resilient than I thought,' Sanzo thought to himself and fired again, but this time at where the heart should be.

The thing's scream was a high pitched, ear shattering screech of pain and frustration, the demon thread loosened and Hakkai fell to the floor unconscious. The strange corpse collapsed into a pile of thread and blood, and the villagers fell over dead all over the room and everything was over, for now.

"WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE!" an angry voice demanded outside the room, and the head priest entered with his eyes piercing and shocked at once, and he was soon speechless when he saw the villagers piled onto the floor.

"Game's over buddy, we're on to you now," Goku threatened the priest, his staff raised high and ready to strike. "Show us where the others are hidden now!"

But the priest only laughed and walked over to where the corpse used to be inside the wall, and stared down at it.

"What a pity to have found them so soon," the priest said in a low voice, picking up the thread and examined it closely as if he had no clue what it was.

And suddenly, his eyes glowed gold and the room suddenly collapsed beneath them. Sanzo, who had Hakkai on his back, Gojyo and Goku fell into the mysterious abyss below.

The smell of blood and rotten flesh hung over the room like an invisible poisonous veil as Sanzo and the others came to consciousness, but they weren't on the ground anymore.

The four were strapped to seven foot tall steel platform, shirts removed and upper body exposed, and bound with the same demon thread they encountered a while earlier, only it wasn't possessed and was silver instead of crimson. They were on top of the Buddha tower, in the thundering storm above.

"So glad you could join the party," the head priest's voice echoed in their ears as they turned to see the girl Sanzo saw in his dream

Waist length chocolate brown hair, ice blue/white eyes, and three power limiters tightly worn around her neck, yes it was her, she was their new companion. She was like them, but only she seemed calm and thinking of a plan, but looked up at the sky instead of making eye contact with any of them.

"I decided that game play was over and down to serious business, so I did just as my master ordered," the priest explained, his cruel smile just like the corpses was before. "Orders by Master Kougaiji himself."

'Kougaiji…how can this be?' Hakkai asked in shock, feeling the razor thread cut deeply into his chest again like earlier.

"Hakkai, you doin' okay over there?" Gojyo asked quietly, but Hakkai couldn't do anything if he wanted his throat slit, so he just smiled and looked around.

The top of the tower wasn't very big, but wide enough for at least eighty people to stand on. Torches lit the dark outside, the fire a kind of glowing gold and red and seemed to be protected by a shield.

"Kougaiji and his master thank the five of you for participating in helping us unleash our master from hell," he told them slyly, his voice creeping with the longing to consume more power.

The priest turned away from the five victims of death and chanted in a quiet, unknown language Sanzo and the others had never heard of. But the chanting was soon followed by more cloaked demons that stayed behind the platforms, and it soon became a strange, foreign symphony of a dark ritual.

The girl who was supposed to be Sanzo, Gojyo, Goku, and Hakkai's new companion looked down from the sky and her face was exposed of fear and pain as the chanting increased its volume and the lighting and thunder got brighter and louder.

"Is she alrightt?" Goku asked Gojyo, but the redhead was too focused on the strange girl already.

"I don't know, but she sure is hot!"

"NOW ISN'T THE TIME FOR THAT!"

"Who asked you shoulder monkey?"

The rest of the conversation was cut short when the chanting had quickened its pace, and now all the cloaked figures were staring evilly at the five victims, and the head priest had now exposed his true form.

A wide fanged mouth screeched in hunger, paper white skin glowed in the threatening storm like a bright candle, and black pants and flowing cloak wrapped around the demon like flowing shadows, and huge black feathered wings extended gracefully into the darkness.

The now transformed demon smiled at the five captives and his eyes glowed gold again, but this time the demon thread starting tightening around the victims, and then everything became a nightmare.

"ANUBIS NASHIRA!" the demon called out, his voice deep and sinister as the sky opened before the tower, and Sanzo and the others couldn't believe what they were seeing. The demon lord that was sealed years ago was trying to break his seal.

The demon's full form was silhouetted by the seal's wall so not much could be seen of the demon except the frustrated movements. "MASTER, I BRING YOU THE SACRIFICES YOU WISH!"

Silence came from the portal, but the way the demon came closer Sanzo and the others could tell he was pleased. The demon's hand touched the seal's wall, and for a few moments, the hand passed through the seal. A long, human like clawed hand reached out in longing, but it stopped a few feet away from the tower.

And strange liquid drops dripped slowly from the demon's claws, and fell onto each platform, then the hand was snatched back into the portal again and the clouds blackened the heavens once again.

But suddenly the chanting continued, and the demon thread suddenly came to life, but in a more lethal way than before.

Hakkai screamed in pure agony as his felt his rib cage battle against the living thread, bright blood smearing his body and his eyes were glossy with fear for the first time in years.

Sanzo just gritted his teeth as the thread wrapped around his throat, but eventually he gasped for air as he felt his throat very slowly being slit open, his lungs even started filling with blood as the thread squeezed the air out of him.

Gojyo just swore quietly when the thread was too sharp for him, and his sight was soon very blurry from such blood loss. He tried to break free of the irritating thread, but the chanting grew louder each time and the thread squeezed out more of his red essence like a suffocating embrace.

And Goku took it the worst, he kept struggling and biting furiously at the thread, but it only caused him more suffering than anyone else. The chanting demons spells had quickened more each time he struggled and the thread had gone haywire within a few seconds. His screams of agony could be heard across the valley over the thunder, pain can be more powerful than nature.

The unknown girl hardly struggled, but the four could tell she was in pain more than them. She gasped for breath while the thread suffocated her even if she didn't struggle or not. She didn't scream, and that's how Sanzo and the others could tell she was strong.

Then suddenly, the thread had stopped its torture and Sanzo and the four captives couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen within the next few seconds.

"Oh, such pure blood you all possess!" the priest demon laughed with sick pleasure as he dipped in his hand into the blood pool below the platforms, and whispered a few words, and the middle of the tower surface had become a large portal, where the demon lord was waiting at the bottom.

"MASTER, FEED YOUR HUNGER!" The demon lord made a growl of lust, and suddenly was pressed against the portal wall.

"Selket fusuhiru llyaven anubis nashira!" the demons chanted, and the lighting from the dark heavens suddenly struck the portal, and very gradually, the demon lord's left hand appeared out of the portal.

Sanzo, Hakkai, Goku and Gojyo couldn't believe what they were seeing; their worst enemy that they despised was appearing before their eyes.


	4. Resolution Part 2

Chapter 4

_Resolution Part 2_

Sanzo just stared in shock, and probably even fear as the demon lord's hand reached out to grab their bodies and take them with him to hell, but the priest had used most of the strength to fight against the possessed thread a while before.

The laughter of the priest demon could be heard in the distance, since the five captives were dizzy from blood loss, but they still had to think of something before their existence was terminated.

Sanzo looked over the girl who's supposed to be their new companion, and for a second he thought she was dead, but after a long look at her, he saw that she was concentrating on her energy or something, and he noticed that Hakkai and the others were curious as well.

'What could she be doing?' Hakkai wondered to himself as he watched the girl's eyes tense and her body became limp for her to focus on a summon or some sort of energy.

"Just a little more and our lord will be free again!" the demon priest rejoiced with happiness, and the demon chanters screeched with glory and excitement as, very gradually, came the demon lord's shoulder and neck.

But everything was interrupted and the sound a thread snapping echoed sharply all around the top of the tower, and everyone looked to the now escaped demon girl, her eyes filled with anger and annoyance.

"You know, that chanting and _you_ are getting on my nerves!" she hissed at them, the marks where the thread had been had disappeared.

"SEIZE HER!" the demon priest yelled.

But the demon girl just smiled and got into a defensive fighting stance, her nails had extended to an abnormal length and were as sharp as the newest sword and she attacked.

Her long nails cleanly cut through the demon chanter's bodies like scissors were cutting paper, not a flaw left as most of the chanters were either decapitated, arms or legs cut off, stabbed in the head or heart or they were cut in half!

"She's good," was all Hakkai could barely whisper with amazement as the girl continued to slice through the waves of demon chanters like a machete would slash furiously through corn stock.

'No kidding, where did she learn that stuff?' Goku wondered in amazement, his eyes following her swift moves and styles.

"HEY, HOW ABOUT A LITTLE HELP HERE?" Gojyo yelled.

The girl stopped what she was doing, avoiding many demon energy strikes and blades as she made her way over and neatly sliced the possessed thread to pieces that gave Sanzo and the others time to claim their shirts and weapons, that were protected by the now distracted chanters.

But the demon priest was quicker, flying high into the storm clouds, then swooped down and grabbed Goku and flew off with the little demon into the storm high above.

"GOKU!" Sanzo called to the thundering storm above, but only the ear shattering thunder answered his call, the lighting suddenly striking one of the ends of the tower, causing a few hundred of the demon chanters to fall into the rising water below.

"Damn it, how are we going to get to him?" Hakkai wondered as he pulled his green shirt back on, his dragon watching helplessly on his shoulder, shielding the pounding rain with his little wings.

Gojyo grabbed his silver staff and watched the sky closely, barely catching a glimpse of the demon priest flying inside the clouds every time lighting struck, seeing Goku's little body trying to pry free of the demon's blade like talons.

'There's no way he'll survive for much longer,' Gojyo thought to himself, looking to his right side to see the girl still fighting the waves of chanters.

But a sudden gunshot broke Gojyo's thoughts, and he turned to see behind him that Sanzo had fired his Banishing Gun, sending a few demons away from the tower.

"Should we assist her?" Hakkai asked.

"Just kill them," Sanzo hissed, his priest robe now around him and his gun pointing towards the chanters.

"She can't have all the fun anyway," Gojyo added, and the four charged to aid their rescuer and new companion.

Gunshots, yelling and screeching echoed across the land and sky, creating a loud symphony of battle and determination, the black abyss above still thundered and lashed out bright lights of destruction, the stormy battle never seeming to come to an end.

"Let me go, you insane bird!" Goku screamed over the thunder at the demon priest, but the priest just looked down at Goku with a fanged smile of evil intentions.

"Oh, but you play one of the most important parts my friend!" the demon priest yelled over the thunder, looking down to see the demon portal starting to reopen.

The priest swooped down lower until he hovered about fifteen feet above the tower, the demon lord's hand stretching out in impatience, but his face wasn't seen from the bright light inside the portal.

Goku hissed in sudden pain as the priest's talons stabbed sharply into his back, feeling little drops of blood fall with the rain and down into the portal, a look of fear and doubt on his face as the talons very slowly let him loose.

'I guess this is the end for me…no more ramen, no more fruit, no more figthing…no more Sanzo, Gojyo and Hakkai…I'm finally done for,' Goku whispered in his petrified mind as the talons finally let him loose and he fell down into the portal where the demon lord awaited his body.

Goku slowly opened his eyes to see that he was safely sitting against one of the small walls of the tower, with Sanzo and the others standing over him.

"You okay kid?" Sanzo asked.

"Wha-what happened?" Goku asked as he rubbed his throbbing head.

"The girl saved you before you fell," Gojyo said with a smirk on his face.

"Where is she? Are they gone, is it over?" Goku asked as he got back onto his feet, looking around, but saw that the battle wasn't over yet.

Half the tower was destroyed, the portal had disappeared, but the demon priest was lying on the ground still breathing, blood pumping from his broken wings and back.

The four guys turned around to see the girl looking at them, her eyes now filled with gratitude, but mystery as well.

"Took you long enough kid," the girl said calmly, walking over to them, her extended nails at her sides, meaning no harm.

"Ummm, thanks for saving me, but who are you?" Goku asked suspiciously, hoping she wasn't one of them.

But before she could answer, the priest was up on the ground and, using his now large clawed hands, threw the girl against the wall, his eyes now bright crimson, burning with anger and revenge.

"No one…disobeys…my master…AND LIVES!" he threatened, throwing the four against the broken tower…his wings now healed and the hole in his back had mended.

Sanzo and the others watched helplessly as the priest started transforming into a second form and things were about to get really ugly.

Long white hair traveled down to the waist, long pointed ears poked out from the side of his head, his face looking younger, his body growing stronger and exposed large muscles, the talons disappeared into human legs, and the healed devil wings tore apart to create a second set of wings, but the deep crimson eyes and the clawed hands remained.

"Well somebody decided to get a makeover," Gojyo joked, but everyone else just glared at him for his foolish remark.

'Great, just what we need, another stupid demon,' Sanzo sighed in frustration, carefully getting to his feet and fired his Banishing Gun, but the holy bullet just phased out as it touched the demon's paper white skin.

The demon turned around in annoyance, and grabbed Sanzo with his huge clawed hand and brought him closer to the demon's face, his fanged smile now exposing the long, gleaming canines.

"What kind of priest carries around such a weak weapon in times like these? I was expecting a real fight to see if you lived up to your fame," the demon told Sanzo, the demon's breath stank of blood and decay. His large hand started crushing Sanzo's lithe body, the priest flinching at the pain, but kept a dark expression and glared at the demon before him.

"What makes you think it's a weak weapon?" Sanzo mocked the demon.

And at that moment, Gojyo and the others attacked the demon head on, trying to find a weak spot, but the demon just threw them off like they were useless rag dolls.

"Oh but you're wrong priest, you have no power to kill me, just look around you!" the demon challenged, laughing as he looked down at the helpless group, slowly examining each one at a time.

The girl looked at Hakkai who was looking at the demon with a glassy look in his eyes, but she poked his side and got his attention.

"Remove one of my power limiters."

"Why, you won't be able to control yourself," Hakkai whispered.

"The power limiter will do nothing to harm you while you remove it; it can only be removed by those who the owner trusts."

Hakkai thought for a moment, not sure if he could trust her, but the truth in her eyes changed his mind, and he reached for the top power limiter, and removed it with ease.

The girl hissed for a moment, closing her eyes and focused on the power boiling in her blood, letting one third of her power temporarily take over her human nature. A wide lighting bolt struck the black clouded abyss as the girl stood up and walked to the demon who was now suffocating Sanzo.

The demon noticed her strange behavior, and stopped what he was doing and just stared at her, her eyes looking dark and unwelcoming, but he ignored the icy feeling and smiled as she stood right in front of him.

"Will you be the sacrifice for our master?" he asked slyly, throwing Sanzo against the broken wall, almost near the edge of the tower.

She said nothing, and started concentrating on her growing power, closing her eyes and covering her face with her clawed hands.

The demon stared at her blank mindedly as she just stood there, so he decided to try and lash out at her, but at the moment before she would be dead, she caught his hand and glared up at the demon with a lust of blood.

"Looks like the joke's on you now bastard," she whispered, her smile now showing small but sharp fangs.

She used her free hand to swiftly slash the demon's face, and he screeched in agony as he covered his face as blood leaked through the gaps in his fingers.

While the demon was distracted, the girl summoned her energy together and sent icy waves of energy at the demon, who took the blow rather badly, he was no match for her as she lunged at him, claws outstretched and ready to fight.

Sanzo and the others watched as the girl beat and slashed the demon with no problem, she was stronger than they had anticipated.

"We should help her; she may need our help," Goku suggested.

"But what about you, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked.

"You're right, we'll take care of Sanzo while she distracts the demon, then we'll help her once we've gathered out strength," Gojyo said and Hakkai and Goku agreed, getting up to help the injured priest.

"You okay man?" Gojyo asked Sanzo as the three helped the priest back on his feet; Sanzo nodded and looked over to the battle.

"Let her do what she wants," Sanzo ordered, loading some strange kind of bullets from his robe pocket.

"What are those?" Hakkai wondered, seeing the bullets were brighter and more luminescent.

"You'll see," was all Sanzo replied impatiently.

The four charged onto the demon priest, using all their strength to help bring it down, but nothing really seemed to help with their assistance.

While the fight progressed, Sanzo walked away and got further away until he was on the edge of the half standing tower, gun pointed at the demon's back, waiting for the right moment. And when the demon's back was fully exposed to Sanzo's gun, he pointed the gun at the demon and got ready to fire.

"EVERYBODY, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" he yelled to the others.

They got the message and jumped away from the demon, and watched in silence as Sanzo put his finger to the trigger and smiled at the demon.

"Now look who's playing sacrifice?" he said quietly to the demon and pulled the trigger. The bullet swiftly moved straight into the demon's back, but the demon's last bit of power fought against the bullet, trying to drain the holy bullet of its power, but it was useless.

Sanzo turned to the girl to see that her body was beginning to adapt to the surge of new power. Six black wings unfurled from her back, several feathers flying around the demon in a taunting circle. He soon just stood there, watching her just stare at him and the feathers dancing like birds of prey.

The large black wings on the girl's back flapped a few times, as if they were excited children, the feathers edging closer to the gap between her and the demon.

The four soon felt a bone chilling laugh come from the girl as the feathers soon formed a circle on the tall demon's chest. Black liquid oozed from the points of the feathers, the demon soon screaming in agony and trying to pull the feathers out. The center of the formed circle grew black as well, and they could hear her chant a sentence in a language they didn't undertand.

"No…it can't be…she's…she's the one…" But the demon's whisper was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream by her as she dove towards him and slashed at his eyes. Black liquid began to ooze from the slash wounds as well, and his scream of agony continued to shake the ground as the portal he created sucked him in and all went quiet, despite the still falling rain.

Hakkai gave the girl back her power limiter and smiled at her, but his eyes revealed surprise and shock just like the other three.

"What was that?" Goku asked in awe, walking over to the demon's ashes and watched them be picked up by the howling and off into the night.

"Just kicking some demon ass, that's all," she explained without looking at him, securing her power limiter back onto her neck.

"Thanks for saving us," Gojyo said with gratitude, her beauty striking him almost speechless. "We would've been dead…if you hadn't…helped us."

"I had to do it," she told them, giving another weary sigh and looked up to the storm. The sound was starting to piss her off again.

"Let's get out of here before anything else gets us, I'm hungry!" Goku complained, but Sanzo just smacked him upside the head and glared at him.

"Let's go find a hotel for the night," Sanzo told everyone, giving the girl a strange look before finding the secret passageway back to the main floor of the temple, and everyone followed.

-Back in the village/ The Rychi Hotel-

After the five had settled in, despite no one else was around, they dried themselves off and got ready for rest.

"There are only four beds," Sanzo informed everyone else, and Gojyo looked at the girl with a perverted look on his face. "You can sleep on the floor if you want."

She looked at the four for a moment, ignoring the red head and Sanzo and decided to group with Hakkai.

Even though Gojyo complained and tried to talk to her, she ignored him and removed her white kimono shirt to reveal a wide strap white tank top, and removed her black shoes that laced up her leg.

-2:00a.m-

The girl woke up the sound of a gun clicking, and turned over to see Sanzo loading his gun. Very quietly, she got out of the bed and walked over to Sanzo, who was the end of the room by the window.

"I thought women needed their beauty sleep," he wondered sarcastically.

"You got something to say?" she challenged back.

Sanzo finished loading his gun and then turned to face her. "You're supposed to be our new companion on our journey," Sanzo explained, setting the gun on the table next to the bed.

"I don't need someone making my decisions for me," she said icily, not sure why he was telling her this. "I travel on my own terms."

"You don't have a choice, but I'm not going to force you to do anything." His tone sounded annoyed, but calm at once as he watched her think about what to do.

'I'll go with them for now,' she thought, but turned to Sanzo, whose eyes had mysteriously softened with understanding.

"I accept," she said to him, and he just nodded and looked out the window, the moonlight peeking from behind the clouds.

For a moment, both didn't speak, until Sanzo looked at her again with a bored look and held out his hand to her, a simple gesture of welcome.

"Fine then, Kakera," he said, wondering why he smiled at someone like her, he always tried to keep cool and stay away from his personal emotions.

At first, Kakera seemed confused by his hand gesture, especially since he knew her name, but shook his hand quickly and gave him a small smile.

"You should get some sleep, judging from the bags under your eyes," Kakera said in a somewhat mocking tone, then got up and started walking back to the bed she shared with Hakkai.

He said nothing in response, just kept staring out the window and let his mind drift somewhere else. Kakera slowly got into the covers, but almost gasped when she saw Hakkai looking up at her, but she regained control and got back in the covers.

"Are you accepting Sanzo's offer to come with us?" he asked softly.

"Yes…you heard the whole thing?"

"Who can sleep with Sanzo's loud voice?"

"Goku?" she asked, and Hakkai laughed softly.

"So what's your name?" he asked quietly, making conversation.

"K-Kakera…"

"Well, goodnight Miss Kakera," Hakkai told her in a gentle voice, then rolled over onto his side and went back to sleep, his back to her.

'I guess things will be ok, but I still don't know how they know my name or how I feel around them. I must be losing my mind after all,' she wondered to herself, but got comfortable and drifted slowly to a quiet and peaceful sleep.


	5. Home

Chapter 5

_Home_

By the time the soft, early rays of sunlight touched the land below, the Sanzo party was packed up and on the road to the next city, no idea what would await them there.

"Is this a routine for these two or what?" Kakera asked Hakkai as Goku and Gojyo got into another fight and were cursing like crazy.

"This all your fault you stupid water sprite!"

"Cut the crap monkey boy, you're the one who dragged her out of bed!"

"Hey don't blame me! She was going to sleep in if I didn't wake her up!"

They continued to argue for a while longer, until Kakera couldn't stand it, got up and turned around to face the two bickering, blabbering demons.

"Now let me make this VERY clear to the two of you morons! If I hear another word about you two fighting over my sleep, you two are gonna end up being roasted road kill!" she warned them, grasping their two throats.

"Roasted…that sounds good…got any food?" Goku asked dryly.

She snarled in frustration and pushed them back against the seats behind them, and they fell silent for a while. Until a certain monkey had to say the three words.

"Use this, it'll shut those two up until the next city," Sanzo said angrily at Kakera, handing her his large white fan.

"Can't we just let them be for now?" Hakkai asked quietly.

Kakera looked at him for a moment, and handed the fan back to Sanzo and sat back in between the priest and Hakkai, but then the jeep turned back into Hakuryu, who panted and groaned in Kakera's lap.

Sanzo hissed in anger, but tried to keep his cool and didn't say anything; they were in the middle of a grassy land with no civilization in site. Hakkai delicately picked up his dragon friend and let the dragon drape himself around Hakkai's shoulders.

"It's only a few more miles to the city, we'll be there before nightfall," Goku said happily and started down the path they were headed.

"Okay, how does he know that?" Gojyo asked the others.

"He smells food," Sanzo said simply, and the others followed the hyper, fast walking monkey into the near approaching forest ahead.

-5 hours before nightfall/Unknown Forest-

The Sanzo party looked around suspiciously as they slowly moved through the darkened forest; the sun barely brought any light to the cold atmosphere.

"Goku, your nose better not have played tricks on you again," Gojyo sighed as he stretched his tired arms from carrying his silver staff all day long.

The monkey's stomach growled loudly for the twentieth time since they arrived in the forest, most of their food had gone rotten earlier so they were left with barely anything. Hakkai looked Kakera, who had her arms folded and walked behind the red head and priest; her eyes seemed either lost or drowsy.

"Are you alright Kakera?" Hakkai asked, catching up with her.

She didn't respond, just kept going without an answer, and that got Sanzo and Gojyo's attention.

"You don't look too good there hunny," Gojyo told her, but she only stared up at him with empty eyes.

"Answer us Kakera, don't play stupid!" Sanzo growled, but she only pushed beside him and kept walking, almost beside Goku.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Gojyo wondered, watching her lithe form slowly fly across the dark forest ahead.

"She's remembering past memories," Hakkai told them as they started to walk again, not wanting to be left behind by the starving monkey and their wandering companion.

"How can you tell Hakkai?" Sanzo asked simply.

"I don't really, it's just a theory, but I can tell she senses something that somehow makes her remember her past for something," Hakkai answered, patting his dragon's small head as the small dragon yawned and fell asleep on his friend's shoulders.

None of the three spoke the rest of the way into the forest, until they reached the exit that overlooked another grassy hill land, but the small village seemed empty.

The small houses looked cozy, all sitting beside a large running river that sparkled like a thousand blue jewels in the afternoon sun…but the downside was that dark clouds were hovering darkly over the mountains behind the village, and no one was in sight.

"What's with this? No one's here at all," Goku whispered to himself.

"What happened here?" Sanzo asked himself, taking out his gun protectively as they entered the small town; the clouds were moving closer and a chill spread throughout the town like a restless ghost. 'I sense an aura somewhere.'

Separating individually, they searched all the homes and over the river to see if any survivors were around, but they were alone with the coming rainstorm.

"Come on Goku, we have enough food, let's get inside before the rain comes!" Hakkai yelled after the monkey, who greedily raiding another house just by the river.

He heard the monkey demon sigh, and then jumped from house to house, then stood right in front of Hakkai and Gojyo, the priest and Kakera haven't returned yet.

"Would could Sanzo and Kakera be?" Goku asked his two companions as he looked around the village, but there was still no sign of Sanzo and Kakera.

"Should we wait for them, Hakkai?" Gojyo asked.

"I guess, let's go in one of the homes and wait for them to meet back with us, I highly doubt anything has happened to them anyway," Hakkai responded, and the three walked into the nearest home and waited patiently.

"We're here now Sanzo, we can stay here," Kakera whispered as the two stood before a large three story house at the edge of another forest behind, the polished black and white stones dimly glowing in the fog's aura.

"Guess we don't have a choice," Sanzo commanded, and Kakera said nothing as they left the house and walked cautiously back to the clutter of village houses below the hill.

-Nightfall-

After the party stuffed themselves with food and sake, they looked around to see three rooms, each with two beds and extra supplies. Goku got his own room closest to the stairs, free to snore all night and dream of food, Gojyo and Hakkai paired up in the room next to the still starving monkey, and Sanzo let Kakera take the last room with him.

Once they decided who had what room, the five companions took room on the couches in the living room and talked for a while by the warm blazing fire, the gentle patter of rain adding to the sound of the quiet crackle of the fire.

"Hey, why were you spacing out on us earlier?" Gojyo asked Kakera suddenly, catching everyone off guard.

At first she didn't answer, her fear of her past being told preventing her from speaking. But when she looked at Gojyo, for some unknown reason, she calmed down and finally confessed her sinful past.

"This was my second home, though my first one I can never seem to remember. My father left my mother and I when I was only three years old, so I didn't quite understand his alternative for leaving us, but as the years slowly moved along, I had heard rumors in our village that my father had become of Priest of Buddha. My mother refused to the rumors and exiled herself from the outside world, locking herself in our quiet house for days at a time, no one saw her face until the night I turned seventeen."

Her long pause made their hairs stand on end; her story seemed to affect them in a very suspenseful manner, until the most annoying two words escaped Goku. "I'm hungry…"

Without a word, Sanzo gladly smacked Goku senseless with his fan, and the three laughed as Goku squirmed around and under the couches to try and escape the pissed off priest, until Sanzo threw Goku into the kitchen and all was silent again.

"Continue," Sanzo hissed, securely putting his fan beside him and stared back at Kakera, who continued in small voice.

"I had just arrived home from my daily shopping in the village when I noticed a few dark people had entered the house and my mother's loud voice echoed through the open door. Hoping I wouldn't be discovered, I hid within the bushes next to the window to see that my mother was arguing with three hooded men, and they really seemed anxious to meet someone, but when my name was mentioned, everything changed as I continued to listen. They talked of my father, always asking of his location and his condition, confirming if he was someone of importance, but my mother always avoided the subject and stared elsewhere to try and distract herself.

"After a while, gathering the small measure of courage I had, I burst into the house and threatened the hooded men to leave to us and never return. The two hooded assistants started tearing our home apart, breaking windows and tearing up the foundation while the leader led my mother into a corner with a sword at her throat."

Another long pause appeared again around the fire as Kakera took a long shaky breath and lost her gaze into the still blazing flames, no one could figure out where she was getting at, or what she feeling.

"The rest is fuzzy to me, but the last thing I remember is that I went crazy, and my before I knew it, my mothers' blood was splotched on my hands and clothes. The hooded men began laughing as they left me to scream and realize my sin."

Small pinpricks of tears dotted the side of Kakera's eyes, and the others didn't press her further, they had now known something that wasn't their business.

"Have you seen your father since he left?" Hakkai wondered.

"Once, when I was seven," she answered quietly, feeling sleep creep inside her.

"Come on guys, let's get some sleep now," Goku suddenly said as he reappeared from the kitchen, his mouth still sticky with food, stretching out and let out a deep yawn. They all agreed and walked upstairs, but Kakera stayed behind by the fire, her vague memories plagued her mind like a broken record.

"Hey, are you coming or what, Kakera?" Gojyo asked groggily.

"Fine," she replied as she joined him at the stairs and shared goodnights before retiring to the comfortable, waiting beds.

-Dream-

Her sight turned red as the hooded men cornered her in the forest, her mother's blood still heavily splotched on her clothes and skin.

"Is she the one my lord?" the one on the left asked the middle man.

The man in the middle nodded and the two beside him pinned her to a tree while the leader pulled out a long needle coated with a thick black substance, a small drop escaped and wilted a patch of grass.

"You don't know how lucky you are to become a member of our family," the leader whispered slyly as he grasped her neck and sank into it, and a small seal appeared when he pulled back. "You and your new power belong to me now."

Without having time to react, he injected the dark liquid into her throat, and after that; she was no longer the innocent person she used to be.

-End-

Kakera quickly sat up screaming, but stared down in horror as her claws extended, her sight became bloodshot, and purple scars appeared on her face. Sounds of yelling her name and footsteps made her look up to see Sanzo and the others staring at her in shock, but they kept their cool and pinned her down while Sanzo pointed his gun at her neck.

She struggled and slashed at the three demons, nailing Gojyo in the face with her fist and Goku in the forehead with her claws, small droplets of fresh blood dripping down his face.

"STOP MOVING!" Sanzo snarled, his finger shaking on the trigger, she could see he was unsure of what he was doing. Kakera tried to wriggle free, but the three demons fought against her and ceased control of her, and then Sanzo fired three shots.

At first, nothing happened after Sanzo lowered his gun, and Kakera's sight returned to normal as she sighed and looked at her normal hands again, but her nails were lightly splotched with Goku's blood.

"What happened, Sanzo?" Gojyo asked Sanzo, confused of how Kakera was psycho one second and now normal the next.

"I shot her power limiters to exorcise the demonic power that possessed her," Sanzo told Gojyo, running a hand through his golden hair before walking back to his bed.

"Sorry about the blood Goku, let's go take care of it," Kakera whispered, getting up from the bed and Goku followed automatically.

"What's up Sanzo, you're acting very moody since we arrived," Hakkai asked the frustrated priest.

"There's something here, a disturbing and restless aura," Sanzo replied quietly, his gun at his side protectively.

"What happened to you anyway?" Goku asked as Kakera finished dabbing alcohol on his forehead to heal the small slits. Kakera said nothing, just helped him down from the table and walked into the living room to see the fire was gradually dying down.

"What I told you about my past memories, but one part remained unknown to me until I woke up from my nightmare," she began, wearily sitting by the dying fire, Goku beside her with a look of concern.

"After I had killed my mother and the intruders left, a couple from the village came to see if we were okay, but instead I attacked the entire village my seething rage, killing everyone and I was bathed in their innocent blood."

Goku saw the sadness and guilt in her eyes and sighed sadly, not sure what to do or say to comfort her painful sorrow.

"I'm sorry for what happened," he told her, lightly resting his head on her shoulder. "Don't feel sad Kakera, most things happen for weird reasons."

A while passed and nothing was exchanged between the two demons, the sound of the rain getting louder every passing moment and the thunder raged loudly, but the soft crackle of the dying fire added comfort to the cold room.

"I guess you're right Goku, life can be so damn stupid at times," Kakera whispered, but Goku's snoring answered her.

She sighed and took the sleeping demon into her arms and carried him up to his bed, closed the door and went back to the room she shared with Sanzo, wondering what the priest was up to now.

Sanzo was quietly staring out the window when Kakera entered, his robe to his waist and his black suit exposed, his attention focused on the raining realm outside the window.

"Have a nice conversation with the monkey?" he asked her calmly.

"What concern is it to you?" she shot back quietly.

He became silent and continued to let the watery scene sink in, the sounds of soft _thuds _echoing in the background, the water lazily drummed in his ears like distant battle drums.

"Kakera, what is the rain to you?" he asked suddenly.

"It's calming sometimes, but it can create painful experiences," she whispered and she heard him get up from the chair and stare at her. "What is it to you Sanzo, what memories do you have of rainy nights?"

He was going to answer when Gojyo ran into the room, slowly looking around outside before shutting the door, his face struck with horror.

"What's happened Gojyo, what's going on?" Sanzo demanded, but Gojyo just stared at Kakera before speaking, his face pale and his eyes wide and fearful.

"It's-it's Hakkai! He's being a-attacked by some doll!" Gojyo choked out, the blood drained from his face as he dropped to his knees in shock.

Sanzo and Kakera ran to the water demon's side, but suddenly heard broken glass and Goku's scream echoing across the hall. Sanzo looked at Kakera, then grabbed his gun and waited by the door.

"Go help them, I'll look after Gojyo!" Kakera told Sanzo, and the priest nodded and ran out the door.

Helping Gojyo sit on her bed, Kakera let him take a few deep, shaky breaths when she tilted his chin up so she could see his terrified crimson eyes.

"What happened, Gojyo? What did you see just now?" she asked him softly.

Again he didn't respond for a long time, Kakera could see he was remembering past memories, or trying to pull himself together.

"I was getting up to put out the fire…and when I came back. Hakkai was…he was…," he stopped before he pulled her towards him and he held onto her as he remembered the sight. Hakkai had been attacked by his own brother. Gojyo's brother was now apart of the feared undead like the invading dolls of hell.

The two could hear gunshots, screaming and cursing outside the door, but Gojyo stayed in the room, the sight still making him shock with horror. And for the first time in so many years: he silently shed tears of sorrow and loss.


	6. Illusions

Chapter 6

_Illusions_

After a long and irritating silence, Gojyo finally got himself together but still held Kakera tightly by the shoulders as he looked up at her with a look she didn't think was suitable for a so-called grieving demon.

"Gojyo, let's go help the others," she hissed, annoyed by his behavior.

"They'll be fine and besides, you need protection don't you?" he whispered, slowly weaving his fingers through her hair. After thinking quickly, she knew that the Gojyo in front of her wasn't really him; he would've made a perverted move by now.

"Alright, enough is-," Her words were cut off when she felt three razor sharp objects puncture her arms and right below her heart. She automatically let go of him and extended her claws and tried to pry herself free of the bloodsucking wires, but the punctures deepened and she felt her collapse on the ground, out of energy and breath.

'Damn it!' she cursed herself mentally, the fake Gojyo transforming.

The grotesque, shikigami like doll peered down at her with glazed pleasure, the wires connecting to its heart, and her blood slowly traveling across the slick wire and into the doll's heart.

"A long time ago, dolls were just toys for girls to use to escape from reality, but now we're letting all the girls know that we can play games too!" the doll laughed. "But you played the game wrong, how could you! You must take a time out Kakera in hell!"

The wires dove deeper into her skin, the blood flying faster, and Kakera's breathing proceeded slower and jagged, her claws receding into her nails. "Too bad daddy can't come see his daughter play her last game with us don't you think? Killing the Sanzo party and taking your body as a prize for Master Kougaiji."

It only took a moment before time seemed to suddenly stop at Kakera's home, the outside was silent and the room grew cold and quiet. Nothing made a sound, and then, time shattered as Kakera slashed the wires and assaulted the doll without warning, and it was torn to shreds.

"TAKE THAT BACK YOU BLOODSUCKING DOLL! NEVER CONDEMN MY FATHER'S NAME!" she screamed, ripping out the wire like monster out of the doll's wooden chest.

It's shrilling, demonic scream shattered the two windows and the dresser mirror, but Kakera only took her claws and persistently ripped the little demon apart, though the wires were still attaching themselves where they had in the first place. As another gunshot slammed into the wooden walls, Kakera looked down at the crying skull of the wire demon and glared down at it with passionate hatred.

"Out of my way maggot, game over," she whispered, and slammed her heel into the skull, and the screaming gradually ceased into silence.

"Damn it monkey, wake up!" Sanzo yelled again, banging on Goku's door for a third time before shooting another charging Blood Doll, his bullets were almost gone and nothing could be done.

Hakkai was severely injured and unconsciousness, and Gojyo was nowhere to be found, and Goku picked the perfect time to sleep!

A shockwave of fire burst from the room Kakera was in, and the two charging Blood Dolls gave a shriek of horror and sorrow of their fallen comrade, but the house was now being licked with swift flames. Goku burst through the door, staff in hand and looked around lazily until Sanzo fell on top of him.

"About time you woke up, you stupid monkey!" Sanzo cursed, pulling Goku up and smacked him upside the head.

"Well excuse me for getting my beauty sleep! What's going on here, where's the others?"

"Find Gojyo!"

Goku then disappeared down the stairs without another word, charging into more arriving Blood Dolls, but he just whacked through them like weeds. The flames danced madly across the old wooden home, the entire first floor consumed in its bright dance.

'Smoke everywhere…oxygen fading…flames consuming my home...' Kakera thought slowly, her blood even catching fire as the flames beckoned to her to join it in its dance.

"He…lp…me…San…zo…so…me…one…," she whispered in a raspy voice, coughing constantly from the heavy veil of smoke.

But the wall in front of her, a large hole exposing the leader of the Blood Dolls, covered by a black cloak and hood, towering over Hakkai's unconscious body, and its three wires plunged into his body! Unknown strength and courage suddenly burned within.

"HAKKAI!"

The Blood Doll noticed Kakera behind her, but paid no thought to her as she examined Hakkai's body and gave a sad smile and started taking its blood.

But the leader wasn't prepared for Kakera's attack as the intruder dug her nails into her chest and tried to pull out the tiny wire demon, but instead she pulled out a wooden, beating heart!

Immediately dropping it and watching the heart float back into the doll's body, Kakera desperately assaulted the demon enough to get its attention, and cursed at it with all her might as she battled the hooded leader.

"KAKERA, HAKKAI…WHERE ARE YOU?" Sanzo yelled, dodging a part of the falling roof and landed next to Hakkai's door. Pressing his ear to the door, he heard Kakera's small voice and the Blood Doll's screams. But Goku and Gojyo ran into the priest before he barged in, weapons ready to right.

Gojyo had been gagged and threw into the stone basement and left down there while the fake sucked out enough blood to hide itself in the fake image of the real Gojyo.

"Hakkai and Kakera, are you in there?" Gojyo yelled over the fire, and to express his answer, Sanzo kicked down the door, but stopped dead in his tracks. Holding Hakkai's body and the wires stuck in Kakera's body was only the one Hakkai loved most, Kannan was alive!

One night on their journey, before Kakera was even known of, Hakkai had told his friends about Kannan's description, but he explained it with tears and his old wound suffering him.

"Get away from them lady!" Goku interrupted, running towards the doll, but the doll threw Goku out the broken window and down two stories to the ground.

Kannan just laughed and showed them her angry glare down at Kakera, who had fallen on the ground from blood loss, her blood pouring across the decaying, burning wood.

"Hakkai belongs to me! No one will take him away from me!" Kannan yelled with tears in her eyes, but Gojyo unleashed his staff and attacked her without warning.

Kannan dropped Hakkai's body onto the soon collapsing floor and returned the demon and priest's favors by attacking them with her savage, bloodthirsty wires.

'Who is she, she wasn't apart of our village,' Kakera slowly thought to herself as she flicked open her eyes, but looked beside her to see Hakkai's own beaten, bloody body.

Crawling like a crippled person, Kakera slowly took Hakkai's arm and slid it around her shoulders while her other hand focused to expose her claws a second time.

With Kannan distracted by Gojyo and Sanzo, Kakera slashed at the wires and they fell and were consumed by flames without resistance, and Kannan started to scream in pain. Hakkai suddenly became conscious from the scream, looked up to see her, and suddenly went pale in the face.

'No…it can't be her…it can't be!' he told himself, but with the flaming wall to support himself, he lifted himself back up on his feet and stood before Kannan.

"Kannan, is it really you?" he whispered, and Kannan smiled despite her burning wires behind her. Lifting her hood to expose her kind green eyes and shimmering brown hair, Hakkai couldn't help but run to her and held her tightly.

"Gono, we're finally together again, after so long," Kannan whispered, her hand running along his back.

"How-how did you find me, Kannan?" he asked, occasionally coughing up blood from the earlier attack.

"I had to find you and take you home with me…"

Everyone had gone silent, but suddenly the floor gave in and the party fell to the second floor, but were now trapped in a ring of burning debris.

"HAKKAI, GET AWAY FROM HER, SHE'S NOT REAL!" Gojyo yelled at Hakkai, who was still in Kannan's arms, but it seemed Hakkai wasn't listening.

"_Come with me Gono…come home with me…we'll live together forever and never be disturbed again…" _Kannan whispered in Hakkai's mind as her body floated closer to the raging flames behind her.

"Kannan, let's go home together-," But he was cut off when Kakera pulled him away from Kannan's embrace and swiped at Kannan's face. Kannan screamed over her bleeding face, and Hakkai's trance was broken, but he pushed Kakera away from him and looked back at Kannan.

"KANNAN, COME BACK TO ME PLEASE!" he yelled over the fire, but Kannan stepped back too far and was now bound by the fire's grasping hands.

Her scream brought the others back to reality and they could only stare as Kannan's skin melted, the blood gliding down her body until it revealed the leader of the Blood Dolls: Kakera's mother! Kakera only stared blankly back at her mother as the demon unleashed her wires into the party's bodies, and the blood was flying once again.

"HA HA HA, SUFFER ON BEHALF OF MASTER GUYMAOH! YOU WILL FEEL THE INSUFFERABLE PAIN THAT OUR MASTER HAS ENDURED!" her mother screamed, her voice not her own.

"Mother…why?" Kakera choked, feeling the living wire wrap around her neck tighter, her heart pounding for oxygen.

"WHY…WHY YOU ASK? YOU LEFT ME FOR THOSE DEMONS KAKERA WHILE YOU SAVED YOURSELF! YOU WERE ALWAYS A DISAPPOINTMENT TO YOUR FATHER AND I, WHY COULDN'T YOU SAVE ME?"

"Mother…I love…you! Please…don't…AH!" The wire curled around her neck tighter, blood trickling down Kakera's mouth, her sight becoming red, her strength weakening.

"BEHOLD YOUR JUDGEMENT KAKERA!"

"Mother…let…them…go! LET…THEM…GO!" she screamed, tears now weaving with her blood down her face.

The demon stopped suddenly, the wire releasing Sanzo and the others, but Kakera stayed bound and was being pulled towards the demon. Sanzo shot three bullets towards the Blood Doll, but the wire recoiled and knocked them into the fire, where they melted and were no more.

"Why do you keep resisting me Kakera? WHY, TELL ME!" her mother screamed angrily, backhanding Kakera swiftly, then grabbed her head by her hair so Kakera could stare at her mother.

"You…told…me…t-to…leave you! To…escape…and…get…help!" Kakera screamed, noticing the others behind her running to help her. Before Kakera knew it, her mother was dissolving in Sanzo's bullet's light, and she was no more, and all except the fire was quiet.

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT HERE NOW!" Goku yelled after everyone as he ran for the door, and everyone tried to keep up.

Sanzo and Gojyo looked back at Hakkai and Kakera, who were still trapped in the ring of debris, but they turned back and ran for the door.

"Hakkai, come on…we have to…go now," Kakera told Hakkai, who had gone unconscious again.

Receiving response from him, she crawled to him, slid his arm around her shoulders, and despite his heavy body, Kakera slowly got to her feet.

Blood seeping her already stained clothes, and her blurry sight, Kakera started to carry Hakkai with her to safety. Falling halfway to safety, Kakera turned to lie on her back and clutch the hole by her heart, the blood turning her hands sticky and crimson.

But she let go of her wound, grabbed Hakkai before more debris caved in, she continued to carry him to the door. She could see the others looking from the door and yelling to her, but the roaring fire muffled out their wailing voices.

"Kakera," Hakkai whispered as he opened his eyes.

"We're…not…stop…ping…Hakkai!" she told him, seeing the light outside creeping closer to them.

"You're…bleeding…from the…heart," he told her blankly.

"Shut…up…and…hold…on, we're…almost out!" she snapped slowly, falling down again as blood gushed again from her wound, blood bursting from her mouth. Coughing several times, she shakily got back up and continued carrying him, slightly hearing Sanzo, Gojyo, and Goku's voices ahead of her.

"…atch…out Kakera!" Gojyo called out.

"Get…of…way!" Sanzo barked at them.

"Hakkai…kera!" Goku screamed. Both didn't have time to realize that a large board from the roof, filled with nails fell on top of them, and the two could no longer be seen.

"_**Daddy, catch me!" four year old Kakera called out to her father, who was wading in the pond of the temple.**_

"_**Come on Kakera, you can do it!" her father called out.**_

_**Smiling happily, she swung from the rope and landed in the water beside her father, who laughed and held to her to him.**_

"_**I'm so proud of you Kakera…Kakera…Kakera…"**_

The flash back shattered as Kakera raised her head, but stopped when she felt something prick her head, blood falling in her right eye.

"Kakera," a voice gently called out. Looking the opposite way, she saw her father standing before her, his kind smile and outstretched hand.

"_Come on Kakera, you can do it! Come with me_!" he whispered, his hand lightly touching hers under the board. Carefully turning her gaze, she saw Hakkai was bleeding from the side of his head from the nails.

"Father…help…me," she whispered softly, stretching out her hand.

Suddenly, the board was lifted up from the two companions and Kakera felt lifted up by someone, Hakkai's arm was around her again, though he was still unconscious. Looking towards the door she saw her father standing before her smiling, and then disappeared, for her to see Sanzo and the others clearing the door of debris that fallen before.

"Thank…y-you…father," she whispered above, looked towards Sanzo and, feeling power within her, slowly continued to help Hakkai out of her burning home. Fresh air calmed her burning eyes and body as Kakera finally stepped out of the fiery home and fell to her knees before Sanzo, Gojyo and Goku.

"Why did you still try and save him, he would've died either way," Sanzo asked her, but she just gave a weak smile.

"Because…my father…would've…done…the same for you," she whispered, falling on the cool grass as dark thunderclouds hovered above them.

"What are you talking about Kakera?" Goku asked suspiciously.

"No one was in there but you two!" Gojyo added.

"My father came…and helped me like…he promised," she said again, and fell unconscious in her own blood once again.

Along with the gentle patter of rain against the window, a small fire crackled softly as Hakkai finally became conscious.

"About time you got up," Gojyo told him.

Hakkai turned to see Gojyo holding his staff, smoking, and looked down at him from his chair.

"What happened to me?"

"To put it this way, we were attacked some demon dolls that suck blood, one disguised itself as your dead lover, and Kakera helped you escape," Gojyo explained slowly, smashing the cigarette under his boot.

"Kannan, you're gone again aren't you?" Hakkai asked the rain, looking out the window. He remembered now, Kannan had come to take him home and she died by the fire, but Kakera slashed her face for some reason. "Where is she?"

"Sanzo and Goku are taking care of her," Gojyo told him, sighing before relaxing his shoulders.

"You took quite a beating from that doll though, would've died from the board that fell on you two filled with nails. You were bleeding so bad we had to rinse out the stains twice."

Hakkai smiled, glad that he had been saved from the illusion. Slowly taking his time to sit up, his chest, arms, and forehead were bandaged.

"I'll go get you something to eat, I'll bet you're starving after all that stuff earlier," Gojyo finally spoke, heading out the door when Hakuryu flew into the room towards Hakkai.

Looking back to see Hakkai petting and talking to his dragon friend, Gojyo exited the room and went into the kitchen to find Goku eating again.

"Hey you stupid monkey, save some for the injured!"

"But I'm starving, there's not enough food in this house!" Goku complained, his stomach agreeing quickly.

"So go to the other houses and bring some stuff back, it's that easy!" Gojyo scolded, kicking the monkey out the door and shut the door before Goku could curse at him.

'Stupid monkey, he'll never get his brain working without that bottomless stomach of his,' Gojyo thought, grabbing two beers from the fridge and walked to the room Sanzo was caring for Kakera. Knocking first, he entered to see their new companion asleep on the bed, bandaged and clothes clean again.

"She'll sleep till morning," Sanzo said, drinking the beer Gojyo handed to him, then took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

"This has been one hell of a night."

"Yep, but this village has been too damn quiet," Sanzo whispered, lighting the last cigarette in his pack.

"Will she survive without Hakkai's healing powers?" Gojyo asked, but Sanzo took his time answering, the watery night distracting him for a moment.

"We'll know by morning, and then we're off again," Sanzo answered impatiently, turning to Gojyo finally. "Don't you have somewhere to go right now?"

"Fine, I'll leave." After smashing his cigarette with his shoe, Sanzo sat beside Kakera's bed and let himself be entranced by the night's watery scene.

'Nosy bastard,' he thought to himself, setting his small cigarette box on the window sill and distracted himself by examining and loading his gun again.

'Just who is her father anyway?' he thought after a long silence around the room, looking over at Kakera.

"I wonder how the rain affects you Kakera," he thought out loud again, letting the rain outside unseal his memories and eventually, he dozed off into a dark sleep.


	7. Storm of Sin Part 1

Chapter 7

_Storm of Sin Part 1_

"WHAT, WE'RE STUCK HERE ANOTHER DAY?" Goku screamed, dropping large bags of food on the floor while staring at Sanzo.

"Got a problem with it monkey?" Sanzo growled.

The monkey picked up the bags of food and mumbled to himself repeatedly as he unloaded the bags and sorted everything out, then started pigging out again.

Sanzo just rolled his eyes and walked back to Hakkai's room to check on his condition, and he entered to see Kakera sitting on the bed staring down at the sleeping Hakkai.

"How is he so far?" Sanzo asked quietly.

"Fine, his breathing is normal," Kakera whispered, but Sanzo noticed that her wounds were still tender and irritated.

Taking the wooden chair by the door, Sanzo sat next to Kakera and watched over Hakkai for a while, the rain's heavy drops providing the only sound throughout the silent room.

Gojyo had left earlier after Goku did to look for more beer and cigarettes for him and Sanzo, but the rain seemed to tell the two that the red head wouldn't come back any time soon.

"Why do you want to know how the rain affects me Sanzo?" Kakera finally asked, looking straight at him in the face as he turned to stare at her.

"I don't care-," he started.

"I heard you ask me that question earlier stupid, don't lie to me," she hissed back, turning away to stare back down at Hakkai. "The rain doesn't bother me much as it does to you four. But I do have memory the day it was raining like this."

"Does it involve your father?" he asked simply.

Kakera said nothing to reply, just sighed and checked Hakkai's forehead for a fever but found nothing and walked out of the room, leaving Sanzo to care for his unconscious companion.

'I'll take that as a stubborn yes then,' Sanzo said to himself, but his thoughts broke away when Hakkai slowly opened his eyes.

"Sanzo…W-Where are we?" he asked dryly, his voice raspy and dry.

"Still in the village, but we're going to be delayed another day," Sanzo said quickly, feeling the craving for another cigarette crawling along his lips.

"I-Is…Kakera…s-safe now?" Hakkai asked again, but only gained a nod from the distracted priest, who simply stared out the window to gaze in the eyes of the storm.

"I'M BACK EVERYONE!" Gojyo yelled as he set a long, wet blanket on the floor and set two packs of cigarettes and a six pack of beer on the table.

Sanzo walked out of Hakkai's room to find Gojyo having a smoke and a drink, but the priest just glared of how little the red head found.

"You're worthless," the priest whispered, taking a beer from the table.

Gojyo just ignored the frustrated priest and looked to see Goku snoring, face planted on the table and full stomach and laughed.

The two eventually got into a long conversation about the journey, finding Kakera, and how stupid Goku gets after he eats too much when Hakkai slowly walked into the large kitchen, left arm caressing his bandaged stomach.

"Want a drink or what?" Gojyo asked, handing Hakkai the last beer.

"No thanks, I just came out to see if Goku didn't get all the food to himself," Hakkai responded groggily, sitting across from the two and nibbled on an apple.

"Anyone know where Kakera went?" Hakkai asked suddenly.

Sanzo and Gojyo just shook their heads and continued their drinks and cigarettes, not really caring where the mysterious girl had run off to.

Goku yawned and asked the three what was going on, but the three didn't speak at all and continued to listen to the sound of the thundering storm outside. Paying no attention to the lashing wind and icy water torment her body, Kakera sat on the soaked roof and looked up the sky with salty tears thickly staining her face.

"Why did you have to leave me alone? I still have nightmares about you and I can't find ANYTHING to help them fade away! I can't move on without remembering you and your passing," she whispered angrily, pounding her balled fists on her thighs in frustration.

"I can't go home anymore, I can't go anywhere without getting noticed and hunted down. Why can't you help me like you used to before? Have you lost faith in me now huh? Why can't I sleep-," she stopped in mid sentence when Goku jumped on the roof and landed beside her.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked innocently.

Kakera just sighed, wondering what excuse she could think of this time to mask her conflict. With just a small smile and looking away, she went silent for a while until Goku took her arm and tried to lift her off the soggy straw roof.

"Why won't you come down Kakera? Gojyo's back with more food and drinks, and Hakkai's is awake too," he added quietly, letting go of her arm and knelt in front of her.

After a long minute of silence, the monkey demon sat back down beside her and sighed sadly, wondering why she was suddenly mute to his question and ignoring him.

"Did I do something wrong Kakera?" he asked softly, looking up at her.

"No Goku," she began, gathering the strength to stare back at him. "I had a bad headache so I came up here. You could never do anything to make me mad Goku, remember that ok?"

He smiled of her kind words and tried to help her up again, so she submitted to his pleading golden eyes and went back into the house, but the lingering sound of the rain somehow made her shiver.

It wasn't long before Gojyo collapsed after too many beers, Sanzo was smoking by the window and Hakkai was in deep thought when Kakera and Goku returned from the roof. They sensed something wasn't right, but they ignored the temporary feeling and got engaged in a long conversation while Kakera ate her share of food.

She couldn't help but notice that the four were very edgy about the storm and that their eyes seemed dull and lost in the storm's entrancing symphony.

Distant wolf howls added their dark sound to the rain when everyone decided to try and get some sleep for the long trip tomorrow. Gojyo slept on the floor by the door to avoid Goku's deadly snoring, Goku slept on the table for no apparent reason. Sanzo fell asleep on a small couch outside Hakkai's door, while Kakera was inside watching over him.

Outside, the storm lured slyly over the small house, sensing its victims from those fateful nights the four had outlived. The Storm of Sin had now caught up with the four guys and decided to let its magic begin the torment.

Adjusting a new cloth of Hakkai's burning forehead, Kakera looked outside to the storm and began to sense a strange, empty feeling that felt all too familiar. Her memories were in control now as she started to remember the night the rain turned evil on her and began to torment and mock her.

_Fire pounded against her bedroom door, screaming and clanking metal adding to the fire's threatening roar. Young Kakera held her teddy bear closer as she heard a man scream to her mother in the fire._

"_BRING HER OUT NOW OR I'LL BURN THIS HOUSE TO MERE ASHES!" the man screamed to Kakera's mother._

"_PLEASE DON'T HARM ME OR MY DAUGHTER, ITS NOT HERE!"_

"_Worthless wench…OUT OF MY WAY!" the man screamed again as he sliced down the charred wooden door to stare down over young Kakera. "Come here young girl, you're coming with me to see your father."_

_With his black form hidden by the moonlight, the man reached for Kakera and grabbed her by the hair roughly and dragging her out into the raging inferno._

"_A FINAL WARNING WOMAN! GIVE IT TO ME OR THIS CHILD DIES!" the man threatened._

_Only a few seconds flew by as Kakera watched her mother cower in fear in front of the hidden man, but she was soon overcome as she was brutally stabbed repeatedly by the strange man._

"_MOMMY!" young Kakera screamed._

"_Go…child…find…," her mother told her, only to be cut off as the final stab destroyed her fragile soul._

_Blood spattered to her feet and slowly embraced the flowing fire, but she suddenly felt the urge run as the man looked up at her with a bloodthirsty and crazed look._

"_YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER, HE WILL FIND YOU AND YOU WILL PAY DEARLY!" the man called to Kakera as she ran out of the house to find help._

_After that, most moments were blank as the storm outside ravaged and bashed into her small body. Clutching her teddy bear closer, Kakera ran into the village, tears stinging her hot face._

Jumping up from the bedside, Kakera sat up instantly and looked around with fear, the storm ravaging the trees and the house violently. She looked to see Hakkai staring at her, his face tired but confused as if he had been disturbed by her behavior.

"Kakera, are you alright? What happened just now?" Hakkai asked with concern, seeing her shocked face and heavy breathing.

Ignoring his questions, she slowly sat back on the bedside and remembered she must've dozed off about the past. Feeling her face, she noticed that she had been crying heavily as she watched the tragic memory in her head.

"I-I-I'm sorry Hakkai," was all she could manage to say as she stared down at her hands, still feeling the burnt fur of her teddy bear pressed into her small hands.

"I was remembering…," she replied, her voice slowly cracking from the immense sorrow burning in her throat.

Hakkai could only watch helplessly as Kakera whispered in a low voice, drying her eyes from her painful memory. He could remember whenever Kannan used to cry about something. But for some reason, she looked just like her while she stared at him with those teary eyes.

'I haven't thought of Kannan since Kakera rescued me from death, but why now? Why do think of all those memories and why does she remind me of my dead love?' he asked himself painfully, putting his cool hand on his burning forehead that burned with bittersweet memories.

Not giving his mind a chance to speak out, he reached over and took her hand. He could tell she even felt like Kannan used to, which gave his heart shivers of sorrow. She noticed his kind gesture, but looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

"You remind me of her," he said slowly, as if in a dream.

"Who are you talking about?" she asked plainly.

"Someone I used to care for very much, a long time ago," Hakkai told her quietly, the shivers disappearing and the burning sensation inside of him vanished.

"I'm sorry for what happened to her," Kakera said quietly, turning away from his troubled face and looked to the rain. "It's very painful and haunting to remember something you'll always regret."

Hakkai slightly gasped at her tone at her last comment, it almost sounded as if she didn't care about the painful memories that followed you like a mischievous shadow. Seeing the rain was getting more brutal and the lightning more bright, he got this empty feeling in his gut that this rain was a warning of some great evil that stalked them.

"Kakera, you should get some sleep," Goku whispered when he closed the door behind him, seeing Hakkai asleep and Kakera staring out at the rain suspiciously.

She looked to see the monkey demon staring at her blankly, the annoying growling from his stomach gone from all the food. Getting up from the chair, she set it back behind the bed and took one last look at the rain before checking on Hakkai.

"He can sleep by himself-Kakera, are you okay?" Goku commented, seeing fresh tears tear from her eyes.

She couldn't hear him at all as she gazed down at Hakkai's distressed face, as he fought away a demon in his nightmares. Guilt pricked her heart like a needle as she thought about the rain's possible power.

"Kakera, answer me!" Goku said a little louder.

Finally turning to see his confused face staring at her, she regained herself once more and followed him out the door to see Gojyo snoring on a couch and Sanzo deep in thought as always.

"I'm…fine Goku, its…nothing," Kakera choked out as she grabbed three empty beer cans from the floor and threw them out the unopened window, the shattering glass waking Gojyo and breaking Sanzo's train of thought.

"Hey Kakera, have you heard of peace and quiet?" Gojyo snapped.

Once more, she couldn't hear the three trying to make conversation with her. She felt the icy wind tear through her tired soul and felt her hands stinging. Feeling shards of glass in her hands and blood coloring her hands, she could only stare outside as the voice returned.

'Don't waste anymore time Kakera, you're time to shine has taken place! Unleash what you were given before, show them that you are their grim reaper,' the voice whispered slyly in her head, feeling the power surging through her collars.

"No…stop…GO AWAY YOU MONSTER!" she screamed as her collars started taking shiny silver, her tears turning to blood from the immense power.

"What the hell is going on?" Goku asked quietly.

Sanzo loaded his gun and waited for her to make a move, his intention correct. Kakera was a spy from Kougaiji, traveling only to kill us like the usual hitch hiker. She hid her aura pretty well; she was a more advanced pawn unlike the others before.

"Sanzo, what the hell is going on with Kakera?" Gojyo asked impatiently as he took his staff from under the couch cushions.

"Just another pawn of Kougaiji's," Sanzo explained, clicking the gun.

For a long time, everyone just stood still waiting for the first part of the battle to begin. The beating thunder and drops of blood were the only sounds as Kakera slowly turned around to face them.

Her once fiery and mysterious eyes were now replaced with empty red pupils and blood red tears, claws extended to full length and her canines slightly longer than before.

"Go now…run from…this place," Kakera pleaded, her voice not her own. "It's too…late…for me…now. GO AND LEAVE…ME BEHIND!"

'She's letting us go?' Sanzo wondered, puzzled by how she acted towards them despite the sudden change.

"But what about that summon you made and you saying you killed your mother?" Goku questioned angrily.

"All fake Goku! I had…no…choice but…to be…loyal to…Kougaiji and his mother. I'm sorry…go…LEAVE NOW!" she hissed again, the power overwhelming her throat. The purple scars appeared on her face again, but the blood tears kept going as she pulled out the red glass from her hands.

Hakkai burst from the bedroom fully clothed to see Kakera transformed again, her tears turned to genuine blood. He looked to see the others threatening weapons by their side.

"Enough excuses Kakera! You deceived us!" Gojyo accused.

"We thought you would really help us on our mission!" Goku added.

"I should've done this a long time ago," Sanzo whispered as he walked closer to her, his gun shining as the next bolt of lighting struck outside the house.

'No…not Kakera, I don't believe this,' Hakkai told himself, watching as Sanzo put his finger on the trigger. He looked to see Kakera staring at him with regret and even pity.

Time slowed as Kakera stared at Sanzo and his loaded gun, immense sorrow burning in her heart. She remembered the late night conversations she shared with him, she recalled the anger they shared of Goku's insane hunger and Gojyo's smoking. But she slowly gasped when she remembered the first night she was recruited to their team, those soft violet eyes that reflected understanding.

'He understood out of everyone else I've met, he knows about my true colors,' Kakera thought sadly, feeling betrayed by both Sanzo and Kougaiji's people. 'They all promised I would live to see my second chance at life, but why must this come to such an unfortunate end?'

'I did believe what she told us, but why did the gods lie to me?' Sanzo yelled in his head, seeing that Kakera felt the same way he did. 'But I don't have a choice about this, it has to be done.'

Hakkai ran to stop Sanzo's attempt to kill Kakera, she stood and fought the power growing stronger inside her as the shot was suddenly released.

"Traitor," Sanzo whispered as he fired the gun.

"NNNNOOOO!" Hakkai screamed as Kakera felt the bullet fly into her broken heart, feeling her legs give in.

Kakera fell to the ground defeated, her journey suddenly coming to and end after three wasteful years searching for a way to get back into reality's boat.

Hakkai held Kakera's dying body, feeling the angry power consume her completely. Her tears erupted again, but they weren't for her death he could tell, they were for someone close to her. She was thinking of someone else instead of her own demise.

Until he realized what she had truly intended and he let go of her body and stepped back in horror. He watched as the three power limiters released themselves from her body, their power turning to a strong blinding light.

"SANZO YOU FOOL, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Hakkai yelled over the light as the power started to take a form.

Sanzo could stare right at the light in shock, feeling fear and anger surge through him. He didn't see what Kakera's plan was until after he fired his Banishing Gun, releasing the monster within their innocent yet dead companion.


	8. Extra: Four Inspiring Voices

A/N: Hey guys, thought I'd add a little "Extra" to the story while the next chapter is being written. I had to write this for my 10th grade English class about a life changing experience, and Saiyuki was the subject. Hope you all like it, enjoy!

Four Inspiring Voices

The word "hero" is defined as a person who changed the world by their beliefs, actions and even their voice, which causes "inspiration" to grow in someone's heart for that one hero. Inspiration comes in an infinite number of ways, but who says Japanese cartoons can't be one of them? With a history going back to the 1950's, "Anime" has been one of the most interesting subjects to watch and even learn from. My heroes are four guys that aren't real to you, but are you real to me as the words I say and the life I live. Saiyuki may sound abnormal to you, but it sure changed my perspective on how I think and especially write.

Saiyuki is a hilarious, different and inspiring quest of four men on a journey to conquer evil, yet they don't quite accept each other's personalities. First, there's the Buddha priest Genjo Sanzo, but formerly known as "Sanzo." Though given the holy name Sanzo, he's the opposite

of any religious individual. But the death of his master froze his heart and emotions. Next, there's Sha Gojyo (Gojyo) who's a red headed half-demon that loves playing poker. Then there's Cho Hakkai (Hakkai), a man of many smiles but tortured by his sorrowful past. His white pet dragon Hakuryu, transforms into the jeep his master drives. Last but not least is the runt Son Goku, the monkey demon with a bottomless stomach. Whenever he whines, "I'm so hungry," Sanzo whacks him with his large white fan. But enough on their history, let's cut to the point shall we?

It was a warm summer night in St. George last year that my life changed. My friend had just bought the first DVD of the show, so we stayed up all night laughing. But after we got back home, I thought about how the show had little language and violence. My rising LDS instincts kicked in so I didn't watch any anime for a while, but at the same time, my writing skills dropped dramatically. So for a while, my mind was lost, wandering in what were fuzzy portraits of what used to be my novels. But it was sometime later that year that my friend invited me to sleep over at her house. "Wanna watch Saiyuki, Amanda?" she asked me as she turned the T.V. on. "I guess so," I replied, so we stayed up late once more

laughing and getting lost in the show's interesting plot. After that night, the portraits in my mind suddenly became clear again, and it was all because of this inspiring anime.

For the next part of the year and this one, I've gathered more of the anime to continue to inspire me and my growing imagination. But I don't watch it because the characters are attractive or the violence at all, it's when they speak from their heart, not their mouth. It's their powerful, yet short quotes that helped my first novel come to life. It's because of how they try to heal the scars of their shattered past and how they come to understand each other that taught me how to open my heart and think differently about life and what gifts it bestowed on me. Here are some powerful quotes from Sanzo, Hakkai, Gojyo and Goku, words that are full of heart, sorrow and determination.

Hakkai says to Gojyo: "The crimson color of your hair and eyes reminds me of…the blood I've spilt. The crimson that stains my hands is what keep me grounded in reality. Your hair and eyes are the only things that admonish me, Gojyo."

Gojyo says while Sanzo is chanting: "Sanzo spoke in a voice so clear, it dispelled any and all doubt. And it seemed for a moment, we could all see again as we gathered around this gold, luminous light."

Sanzo says to Gojyo: "I said the gods save no one. No one is able to avoid the fate they've chosen for themselves." Goku thinks to himself: "He was the one who saved me from the prison of darkness. He showed me the light of the world, brighter than the sun."

Tears rolled down my face when I heard those words for the first time, tears of relief that said that I actually felt like I was them. Everyone can relate to these guys in different ways: dealing with your past, avoiding your real problems or seeking ways to redeem the burden you think you carry. I did blame myself for things in the past that didn't involve me, but Saiyuki showed me that friends are one of the many keys to moving on with your life and finding resolution in your past. Sanzo, Hakkai, Gojyo and Goku don't see that they are teaching each other lessons that can help them make their scars vanish, and we are like them too. We teach each other lessons through our words or actions everyday, despite our

attitude. These four inspiring voices have inspired me to open my mind and heart to everything the world beholds. Even Sanzo's personality inspired my character for my book and I could tell my friend knew that. "She reminds me of someone," someone said to me in a review. "Yes, she's just like Sanzo," I replied to myself. So to put it blunty: Saiyuki, despite the mild violence and tiny bad words, this anime can help teach people how to try to understand one another. It helps me write because it taught me that I shouldn't focus on one thing for inspiration, but to be inspired by the voices of the people around me. One voice can change the course of someone's life, four voices changed mine completely for the better.

THE END

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A/N: So now you all know how Saiyuki helped me write all my stories, hope you all like it and hope you can be inspired too. Review please, the next chapter is almost done!  



	9. Storm of Sin Part 2

Chapter 8

_Storm of Sin Part 2_

Hakkai jumped back as Kakera turned around to reveal a face so evil and twisted their minds couldn't think of anything to say to describe the fate their so-called companion had met.

She let out a deep, shriek like laugh as she began to jump across the hut and the battle had begun. Sanzo's bullets slowed down somewhat, but her fury only increased as the storm continued to rampage above them.

"Who is she, Sanzo?" Goku yelled over the thunder.

"Don't just stand there gawking, restrain her!" Sanzo barked back at the staring monkey, turning around and stopping before he noticed the four were outside in the storm.

"She's gone," Hakkai whispered.

"She's hiding stupid, she's playing us," Gojyo said irritably.

"Watch yourselves, she could be anywhere," Sanzo whispered.

Since the hut was in the middle of a four diagonal way path, each one took a path to search for their cunning enemy. They could hear her laughing and slicing down the huts, but the rain's assistance stumped them of her presence.

"Come out and play Gojyo! Come out, come out wherever you are! I promise I won't bite!" the evil voice called out to the half-breed through the rain.

Gojyo looked around his part of the village, seeing broken huts but no demon. He slightly moved his staff for defense in case she came out from nowhere but he stood there and nothing happened.

'Yea, let's play alright,' he thought to himself, but his thoughts suddenly faded away as the sound of a crying woman could be heard heading towards him.

"WHO'S THERE!" he called out into the night with no human answer.

Suddenly a woman was on top of him, his staff knocked into the muddy remains of a hut. She clawed at his face and shrieked with rage and they collided together. Gojyo put up a pretty good fight by knocking her off into the remains where his staff, but she only stood up and stared at him.

"Oh Gojyo, you're fun to play around with! Don't you recognize your own mother trying to kill you, just like old times?" Kakera's voice echoed across the valley evilly, another small laugh following after.

Gojyo didn't hesitate to looking at his own mother coming towards him again slowly, crying as she reached out to her son. He stared back at her with shock, not sure of what was true or what was illusion.

"Why did I give birth to an abomination like you, Gojyo? Why couldn't I kill you when I had the chance? You bring great sorrow to your mother when you look at me like that! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?" his mother screamed, falling to her knees before him and dug her claws into shins and sobbed.

He looked down at her with anger and pity, thinking back to all the times she'd cried whenever he looked at her the night his brother killed her, the tears that stained her once beautiful face. He slapped her hands away and went to pick up his treasured staff.

"The past is behind now, no point relying it any longer," Gojyo said with pure determination, thrust his staff and the crescent shaped blade flew into his mother and she disintegrated.

"HOW DARE YOU KILL YOUR OWN MOTHER, GOJYO?" the evil voiced wailed and the setting of the broken huts disappeared and the half-breed stood before a dead end of normal houses.

'What are you?' was all he could ask himself before heading back.

Hakkai turned around to see that the storm was slowly cooling its fury above; curious of what was going on. But the sound of snapped twig made him turn around to see someone standing in the darkness, hidden by the sheet of rain.

"Who can escape the jaws of guilt, Cho Gono?" the evil voice asked.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!" Hakkai screamed.

All he received from the angry night was another shrieking laugh before he heard the person's footsteps coming before him. His heart seemed to slow down as the person came slowly into view.

"No…no…not again," he whispered as Kannan's bloody form appeared, the same wound from his knife in the same place. She looked at him with sad eyes and run to embrace him, but he remained frozen with shock.

"It's really you, my love," Kannan whispered with relief.

All the happy and tragic memories flooded back into his brain like a rushing river of time, his body tensing up from the intense emotion from the memories. She felt real, the blood felt fresh and her voice was genuine, but he still had his doubts.

"Don't make me do this," he whispered ahead of him.

"Why not?" both the evil voice and Kannan asked.

No time was wasted before she grabbed him by the shirt and threw him into the stone wall at the end of village, a sickening thud following the sound of crumbling stone. Before he had the chance to react, she appeared again, with his knife she took from him and started slashing at him with it.

"WHY DID YOU TAKE THAT KNIFE?" she screamed.

"STOP-," Hakkai breathed, blood exploding from his mouth as his gut was pounded by a broken part of stone.

"YOU BROUGHT THAT KNIFE SO I COULD END MY HAPPY LIFE, JUST SO YOU COULD GO ON SOME WILD GOOSE CHASE!" Kannan accused venomously, hot tears slamming into his shirt as he lie there bloody and breathing heavily.

"No…that's…not…why…please, Kannan," he pleaded, his hand reaching.

She took it and slashed his wrist, fresh blood splashing onto her stale yellow dress. She whispered something during the thunder and bolt of lighting as she lowered the knife and the sound of penetration was given off.

Different blood squeezed from the dying person as they looked upon their loved one and their face became twisted with tragedy and loss as they faded into a bright light and the illusion faded and Hakkai was left, lying on the muddy floor of the path he had taken, no wounds from the knife could be seen.

Slowly getting up, he glared at the stormy sky, which again slowly began to calm down and he got down on his knees and tears of his fateful past released from his eyes.

"She's gone…she's gone forever…ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE AWAY EVERYTHING I'VE EVER LOVED! W-H-Y?" he screamed to the black heavens above as he pounded his fists into the muddy ground, his body becoming cold and wet from the storm that ended its torment on him at last.

"Gono…," a faint voice whispered.

"What the-?" he asked as he turned around to see Kannan's locket hanging on the railing of a village house.

Rushing towards the house, he gently took the treasure in his hands, seeing the two photos safely protected in the glass of the locket. A calming tenderness crept into his heart and he sighed of relief.

He looked around, but didn't see anyone around at all. Looking towards the heavens, he sighed and smiled as he turned to the start of the path, he ran to the other paths were the fate of the remaining companions had to yet endure this unforgiving storm of the past.

Goku took in some deep breaths as he lowered his staff at the destroyed illusion, returning to another dead end of the village. His shock fled from his eyes and frustration returned.

"Come on, where are you?" he softly asked the storm with anger.

He quickly searched the huts, found some remaining food and supplies and then ran back to the hut to see if he's missed any of the real action or if Kakera was herself again and alive.

Sanzo kicked open the door to the last hut at the fourth dead end, his gun in front and ready to shoot in case of any distractions. The storm outside calmed slightly more, but the rain still remained persistent. He heard the evil laugh again and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"You demons are all predictable," he growled.

"Only those you know _how _to kill, Genjo Sanzo," the voice replied.

He entered a bedroom, clean and barren as the others had been and looked around. Pointing his gun in every available direction, victory was negative and he headed out the door, back into the main room.

"What have you done with her?" he questioned venomously.

"I'm not gonna tell," the voice responded childishly.

He fired a few shots around the room and he heard a shrieking noise as one penetrated the hidden enemy at last. It lashed out at him and they wrestled violently on the ground, Sanzo's gun knocked out into the rain.

For a while, nothing but punches, claws and grunts were exchanged from the two hidden enemies, blood spots flying into the walls. Sanzo finally kicked the enemy square in the chin into the back wall and he stood up to face the fallen enemy, spitting blood from his mouth and wiping the red river from his nose.

"Now you've made me pissed off," Sanzo warned impatiently.

"HAHAHA, you're funny Sanzo!" the evil voiced cheered as it stood up.

Sanzo looked at the unseen figure with a sickened face, not believing how twisted this demon was. Of all he's ever faced, this one sure won the competition for "Most Sick and Twisted" category.

"What are you?" Sanzo asked somewhat with suspicion.

The figure stepped closer from the darkness, threw a dagger towards the priest, who caught it with no problem at all and pointed it towards his hidden enemy. The thing laughed again and ran towards Sanzo and its heart was sliced open by the dagger.

Lighting flashed outside the hut and Sanzo stared with horror at the face of his master that he admired dearly, blood spilling from his mouth. His hand clutched Sanzo's shoulder, eyes glazed with shock and loss as his knees buckled and both fell to their knees.

"Master…," Sanzo said with genuine pain, just like that night years ago.

"Remain…strong, murderer…Genjo…Sanzo," his master whispered.

"No master…please…don't," Sanzo pleaded, tears forming.

"Daughter…fight on…for…freedom," his master said as the noise of foaming blood at the mouth reached Sanzo's ears sharply.

Lighting flashed again and his master faded away and Kakera's real form returned. The first power limiter shattered and she returned to her true self, her eyes foggy from the stab wound. She held onto Sanzo before blacking out, Sanzo catching and picking her up.

"It's over now," Sanzo whispered as the storm faded away as he left the hut.

Pale, misty light gradually began to wash over the quiet village when Kakera finally woke up, feeling the worst headache a demon could ever stand.

Looking to see the four talking at the table, she noticed they acted as if the whole thing didn't even happen! Goku turned around, smile lighting up his face as he ran towards her and hugged her.

"You're okay!" he said happily.

"I'm fine Goku, just a searing headache," Kakera said patiently.

The three finally looked to where Goku was talking with Kakera and decided to go over and question their companion of her deadly behavior a few hours before. Kakera saw the look in their eyes, sparking with anger, and told herself it was time for them to know everything she knew.

"Talk," Sanzo said impatiently, gun ready in his lap.

"Are you really after us just to kill us?" Hakkai asked suspiciously.

"You're working for Kougaiji, aren't you?" Gojyo questioned, anger rising.

"Just shut up and let me explain if you want answers!" she yelled, anger sparks soaring in her eyes as well. Regaining herself after a few seconds, she took in a deep breath and prepared to tell her tale, one that would surely change their lives for the rest of the mission.

"After my father died, I tried to get back what they stole from him, but to no victory. They found me sleeping in a cave after two days without sleep and took me to their dark castle. There, I was held for experiments of some kind of poison and they trained me to fight against my will. Since I was only a mortal, I didn't last very long before I lied before the very edge of the chasm of Death," she began slowly, feeling memories slowly return.

Without warning, all five could hear the screams of her childhood, voices that seemed familiar and the sound of mechanics in the background. Goku shivered and sunk deeper into the couch while the others looked around, their mouths frozen shut at the power of her memories.

"Did you find out who they were?" Gojyo asked after a long silence.

"That bastard called Kougaiji and his doctors, of course," she responded, the background going silent.

Sanzo gasped as he thought back to what the three gods had said before he left for the mission. He suddenly realized who the people were that abducted her as a child.

"What do you have that they want with you?" Sanzo wondered, putting his gun back into his robe.

"My father never told me," Kakera answered sadly.

"But what happened to you! Why did you try to kill us after playing-," Gojyo tried to say before Kakera lunged and pinned his neck against the wall.

"I have no control over the poison they gave me, you stupid half-breed! If these limiters are destroyed before the four scriptures are found, I'll die and they won't get what they want!" she warned him, upper cutting his chin and turned to the others, their faces white with shock.

Goku went over beside her, poked at the unconscious Gojyo and said gave an evil laugh. He jumped up and across the walls in excitement for some random reason until Sanzo threw his paper fan and landed right in Goku's face, but he ignored the priest's anger and looked back at Kakera.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" he asked innocently.

"Sure, why not, you weird monkey," Kakera said slyly and punched playfully. Goku smiled at her response and ran out of the hut out of a howling stomach as the sun began to rise through the hanging mist.

Sanzo looked to see Kakera staring out the window where she'd broken the glass, the sun softly reflecting her mysterious eyes. He remembered how his master was fond of looking at the sky, but shrugged the thoughts away and walked towards her.

"So are you in still?" he asked casually.

"Whatever Sanzo, I don't care what happens to me as long as this mission is seen to the end," she told him, but he just shrugged and lit another cigarette.

"Sounds childish if you ask me," the priest replied.

"I expected that from someone with a similar mission, Sanzo," she commented, seeing him turn around with slight shock.

"How did you-," he tried to ask before she smiled.

"The rain reflects our past and our character more than you know," she said.

"Whatever," he grumbled.

Less than two hours later, early sunlight warming the cold air, the five piled supplies into the jeep and started to drive with Hakkai, Sanzo and Kakera and the two in the back left to suffer. All the way, bickering echoed across the woods like an annoying siren and the sound of a paper fan gave a boom sound across the land.

Kakera watched in pure amusement as the three continued to bicker over nothing and sighed to herself as she stared to the rising sun before them. She patted the jeep for support, and then lost herself in her thoughts of the past and present.

'I never realized that when you wish to live for someone other than yourself can change your path,' she thought as she fell asleep to the refreshing lullaby of Sanzo's paper fan and Goku's squealing screams. 'It looks like everything will go according to plan for now.'


	10. Acquaintances

A/N: I'm back once more! evil laugh Okay, here's something to know: I will be following only 3 of the episodes of the series starting with the ep. 27 on Vol. 7: Gods of War. Some dialogue might not be the same and not every episode will be included, but still follow able. Please enjoy this chapter; the next one is in process as I speak.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN VOLUME 7: GODS OF WAR, I SUGGEST YOU DO TO KNOW THE CHARACTERS AND PLOTS OF THE EPISODES, I KIND OF HATE TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING.

Chapter 9

Acquaintances

"The problem with Chinese food is that you're hungry later," Goku complained, looking sadly down upon the empty plates, head rested in his folded arms.

"At least you had something to eat; you hogged most of the food!" Kakera hissed, giving the innocent monkey death glare, her stomach adding its anger towards the monkey.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," Goku whined.

"We were lucky to find a place open this late," Hakkai chuckled.

"Lucky! This food sucks," Gojyo added quietly.

"If everyone's done, I vote we leave this loser dive," Sanzo mumbled.

"I second that," Kakera remarked lazily in her chair.

"What are you calling a dive you asshole?" a demon snapped behind them.

Sanzo turned to see a group of demons behind the leader who spat the remark, their angry faces seeming dull and unthreatening to the party. Before their staring contest could continue, Sanzo finally got up and turned to face the offended and pissed off demon.

"I was referring to this place," Sanzo reminded the demon.

"It's all friends and family," Gojyo smirked.

"How cute of them to put on a show for us," Kakera added.

"Who else would eat here anyway?" Sanzo wondered sarcastically.

"These losers are all the same," Kakera whispered to the three.

Hakkai sipped his tea innocently and muttered the "here we go again" phrase, but he knew that once Sanzo was ticked off by someone, nothing could be done from that point.

"And what exactly is wrong with this place?" the demon snapped at Kakera.

"I'd say it's the smell," Sanzo said, attracting the demon's attention.

"What smell is that?"

"Can't tell if it's the food or the company."

"Alright jerk off, I've had enough of you!" the demon hissed, his punch towards the priest stopping in mid air as two men entered the bar. The two, as they made their way to the bar, looked upon the Sanzo party, the spike haired one winking at Kakera, who almost jumped out of her chair to attack him.

'Those two…,' Sanzo's mind wondered as they sat down.

'I've seen those two somewhere before…,' Kakera's mind added.

"Looks like them," Zenon remarked.

"It appears to be," Shien agreed, but turned to see Gojyo behind Zenon.

"Hey man, I don't suppose you could give a light?" Gojyo asked the spike haired demon, who smirked.

"Eh sure, what the hell?" Zenon agreed and lit Gojyo's limp cigarette.

"You're a real pal, it's just not the same without my after-dinner smoke, so let's hit the road," Gojyo said simply.

"Yeah, let's," Sanzo agreed dryly, before the angry demon stepped in.

"Not so fast!" the demon objected hotly.

"So, how much? I may not have been able to eat that crap, but I always pay my bills," Sanzo said, pulling out his gold card.

"Yeah, you're gonna pay big time!" the demon agreed, attempting another attack at the still priest, before the sound of someone pounding the counter with a glass made the place fall into silence once more.

"What kind of place are you runnin' here? Can't a guy have a drink without listening to this bull?" Zenon hissed, turning angrily to the pissed demon.

"Butt out, this doesn't concern you!" the demon warned.

"Doesn't concern us, why everything concerns us…and I don't care for the demon stench either," Zenon replied before the demon dared to cut in again.

"Who do you think you guys are, anyway?"

But Zenon just laughed, his uncovered eye glinting of the lust for a good fight and responded: "Why I think we're gods."

"That dude's a god?" Goku asked, officially and actually confused.

"If the guy says so," Gojyo tried to answer the monkey's stupid question as the demon crowd started cracking up.

"This guy's killin' me, talk about your delusions of grandeur!" the demon cackled, cracked comments surrounding the small bar.

"My only delusion was I could drink this after seeing your face," Shien added quietly, not bothering to turn around.

In the back of the demon crowd, a few members of the party couldn't help but quietly crack up at the released comment, Goku letting out the first small burst of laughter. Kakera tried to control her mouth by covering it and trying to stay upward in her chair.

"Goku, he can't help the way he looks," Hakkai whispered with a smile.

"Bandages does have a point," Kakera managed to whisper to Goku, and the monkey seemed to like the random title Shien had taken by the female demon and tried to let his laughter be known to the crowd.

"Now I know why there weren't any women around," Gojyo added to the joke, his sly smile making his part of the joke come alive between them.

"I don't like them," Sanzo grumbled and the joke suddenly died.

"That's not good," Goku whispered with slight nervousness.

They sat back and watched the little quarrel between the spike haired demon and the pissed off demon, who eventually flew back into some tables. Knowing the fight was just getting started and even more pissed off, the demon exposed his pale green skin and tiger like stripes.

"Striking, you should try that a look a little more often," Zenon remarked to the demon, who spat and got himself back up quickly.

"You're gonna regret you did that!"

"So you keep telling me, let's finish this! Fair warning, demons tend to drive me the wrong way, every time I see one-," he paused to look over at the party, who returned the stare and he continued: "All I wanna do is send them straight to Hell!" and he began to go after the other demons that stood in the crowd.

"What the hell is he?" Gojyo wondered with little surprise.

"He doesn't act like a demon, I can tell you that," Hakkai replied.

"So I guess he's a real god then," Gojyo concluded his restless thoughts.

'I finally found you two, after years of searching, it's a small world after all,' Kakera's mind thought, secretly glaring at the busy Zenon and the still sitting Shien.

"Aren't they Kougaiji's assassins? I think we should help them," Goku wondered, not sure what to do instead of standing around.

"I agree, but I'm sure they can handle this bar of demons by themselves," Hakkai assured the confused monkey.

"Hmph…let's go," Sanzo commanded and the five exited the busy bar.

But apparently as they walked out, a beaten truck and a huge group of armed demons were waiting for them just a few feet away and they sighed at the helpless demons.

"Look, it's Genjo Sanzo!"

"Time to die!"

"Look boys, we've a prize waitin' for us!" the leader shouted.

'That's pretty sad,' Kakera's mind moaned at the demon's line.

"They didn't drive all the way out here to see us, did they?" Hakkai wondered, seeing the group extended quite a ways.

"I'm not sure that truck's road worthy," Goku informed them.

"How much you wanna bet they had to push that all the way here?" Hakkai asked his companions, unable to keep a small chuckle from escaping.

"I thought we ditched this crowd," Gojyo wondered.

"Awesome, I could use an after-dinner workout!" Goku said happily.

"Let's play for dibs first," Kakera suggested slyly and they agreed.

"The game's rock, paper, scissors," Hakkai told them. With their tool in mind, they counted to three slowly and drew their hands. Goku had rock, Hakkai had scissors and Gojyo and Kakera had paper.

But before they had time to gather their weapons, a bright light suddenly descended from the heavens. As the light grew brighter and came down lower, the entire demon group was soon nowhere to be seen and they hissed in anger and folded their arms.

"Why do guys have all the fun?" Kakera wondered, claws sheathed.

"He has arrived," Zenon said to Shien, who remained silent in the bar.

The light soon came in contact with the disrupted ground and as it gradually began to dim, they could see the outline of a man. Only a few more seconds passed before only the man's face couldn't been seen, but their minds soon became entangled in confusion as they saw shackles on the man's wrists.

"How I've waited for this," the man said cunningly, the light fading his face was revealed as his gaze was fixed upon Sanzo's blank face. "How nice to see you again, Konzen."

'It's you…,' Kakera's mind gasped in surprise and anger.

"It's been such a long time, hasn't it? Konzen, have you forgotten you time…in heaven?"

'That name…I've heard it before…,' Hakkai thought, remembering.

"His right eye…is just like mine," Goku gasped, seeing the man's small golden eye.

"It's true…in ancient times; those with golden eyes were told to bring fortune. So in a way, we're brothers, my dear Goku," the man assured the surprised Goku as he stepped forward.

"You sure dish out a lot of crap man, now tell us, who the heck are ya?" Gojyo demanded, impatience slowly rising with the spaced silence.

"I am the War Prince, Homura, at your service," Homura explained, suddenly only a slight distance away from them.

'War Prince?' Sanzo wondered, the name sounding familiar.

'I knew it…,' Kakera confirmed mentally, sheathing her claws in case.

"I'm hurt you've forgotten me so soon, General Kenren," Homura answered Gojyo and the half-breed's face went frozen with shock.

"What did you call me?"

"Are you and your friends related to the Merciful Goddess?" Hakkai asked.

"Well well, at least your memories aren't completely forgotten, eh Field-Marshal Tenpou?" Homura wondered, chuckling at their shock before Zenon and Shien were in his sight as they stood in the bar's entryway.

"Homura, quit babbling and tell them why you're here!" Zenon reminded the distracted War Prince and Homura slightly sighed, as if he was angered that Zenon ruined his fun with the partially shocked party.

"As you wish," Homura groaned casually.

"I'm listening," Sanzo said, breaking his long silence.

"Well my friend, it's time to hand over what you possess."

"Not likely."

"Then I'll kill you."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Don't waste your time Sanzo, tabooed gods don't have the capacity to follow orders," Kakera told him, her claws at her sides and ready.

"I would advise that you hold your tongue, woman," Shien warned her.

"Come and tell me in the face, bandages! Is talking your only talent?"

"Kakera, let it go," Gojyo tried to convince her as he held her back.

"How did I know you'd say that?" Homura wondered, but took no hesitation and jumped in front of Sanzo; flame sword scratching against Sanzo's raised arms.

"No, Sanzo!" Goku yelled before Shien suddenly stood before him.

"This is not your fight," Shien advised, standing his ground.

"Same goes for your guys," Zenon added, smirking at Kakera. 'Long time no see, Kakera.'

'Hello, Zenon,' Kakera's mind spat.

'Sure you don't want me to lend you a leash?'

'I'm good, thanks,' Kakera spat, knowing fighting him wouldn't be worth time, so she let her anger simmer down and her claws became sheathed again.

"So what are you going to do with the scripture?" Sanzo hissed, trying to keep up his minor defense against the armed god.

"Simple, I'm going to destroy the heavens," Homura explained proudly.

"Don't think so…," he countered as he suddenly pulled back from the fiery sword and fired his gun, but the bullet simply disappeared. "What?"

"You really didn't think that gun could hurt me, did you?"

"So you are…"

"You'll have to do better than that, my friend, so go ahead and shoot, my heart's right here," Homura intimidated the priest, pointing to his heart and gave back his sly smile. But when Sanzo didn't respond, he decided to give a demonstration of what his statement meant. "Well, if you're too cowardly then…Zenon, fire away."

"Sure thing, boss," Zenon said, turning around fired.

Sanzo, receiving his reflexes again, he jumped back as the bullets flew towards the still Homura, but just like Sanzo's bullet, they disappeared into an unseen shield protecting Homura.

"So you see, it's not that easy to kill a god," Homura told Sanzo.

"Huh, how very god like of you…wow, to demonstrate your great power, and then expect us to hand over the scripture to you," Sanzo hissed back, his words dripping dangerously with venomous sarcasm.

"So why don't you kneel? Kneel before me now," Homura suggested.

"No thank you," Sanzo assured him and shot again, but it proved nothing.

"It's time you learned your place, now hand over the scripture!"

"Just try, I won't budge!"

"Then I won't ask again, but the next time I draw my sword…I won't hold back!" Homura yelled and ran towards Sanzo, sword hungry for a real fight.

"Sanzo!" Goku screamed, jumping over the still Shien with his loyal staff and struggled against the energetic War Prince.

"Stupid chimp," Sanzo whispered.

"Well I'll be…," Hakkai said quietly.

"The little one, he didn't move as before," Shien commented to himself.

"I don't get why you guys need the scripture!" Goku asked Homura, his arms shaking from the pressure of Homura's sword.

"Stand back," Homura advised.

"I will not!" Goku repeated, trying to keep his strength in control.

'Innocent eyes…pure intentions…but this boy is a heretic like me,' Homura wondered, but drew back his sword and began to walk away. "I'm afraid you all don't acquire the skill to be of use to me."

"Hey, what's up with that?" Goku asked after a short silence.

"What's up?" Hakkai added.

"Got me," Gojyo said before turning around to see more demons arriving.

"Well, if it isn't the tour group," Zenon smirked.

"Oh man, not again!" Goku hissed in frustration, staff appearing again.

"Worthless scum," Homura whispered, swinging his sword and a wall of dancing fire distinguished the demons, leaving nothing but them once more. "Zenon, Shien!"

"Yes?" Shien's voice asked.

"Let's go," Homura replied, sounding bored and tired.

"You sure?" Zenon pressed.

"We will retreat for now!" Homura irritated voice answered him.

"If you say so," Zenon agreed, disappointed.

"I understand," Shien agreed and walked to Homura.

"Later, guys," Zenon said before hearing Gojyo's voice.

"Wait! You…got a light?"

"Here, a little gift from the gods, take good care of it!"

Gojyo easily retrieved the tossed lighter, feeling the nicotine surge through his veins and feeling satisfied, he tossed the lighter back to Zenon. "No thanks" and the demon caught it and joined his companions.

"So long," Zenon repeated.

"And try to keep that girl on a leash next time," Shien suggested dryly, and their new acquaintances vanished and the party was left alone.

"Well that was a waste of time," Kakera hissed, blood boiling.

"Still don't like them," Sanzo repeated, looking to the pricked sky.

* * *

"You took my lighter, asshole!" Gojyo accused Sanzo.

"No, remember, you gave it back because it wasn't working," Goku corrected the red haired demon.

"You lookin' for a fight?" Gojyo asked the monkey.

"I was just telling you the truth," Goku said defensively.

As the fight faded into the background, Kakera got up and looked back at the cliffs to see three figures watching their jeep leaving the town. Untouched memories suddenly sparked fresh in her mind of their faces, and she growled quietly.

"You think this is wise?" Zenon asked Homura.

"Keep in mind, there are the other scriptures, isn't that correct?" Shien asked.

"Yes, that is true, Konzen's scripture will soon be mine as well as the boys infinite strength," Homura told his loyal comrades, looking down to see Kakera standing up in the jeep and facing them.

"What about her, boss?" Zenon asked.

"Yes, what of the girl?" Shien accompanied.

"Let's just hope her past can weaken Konzen and we can take his scripture without any complications. I think you can be very useful again, my dear," Homura whispered, the last statement remaining sweet in his mouth as he smiled at the girl as he continued to look at her standing form.

"Stupid Monkey!"

"Water Sprite!"

"Dumb chimp!"

"Roach! Carrot Head!"

"Idiots," Sanzo hissed irritably, throwing the useless cigarette.

"Do you think…," Hakkai began.

"You shut up…and don't say it," Sanzo warned the driver.

"Yes sir," Hakkai obeyed and focused on the road.

But not much time passed before the priest had finally tolerated enough behavior from the foolish demons in the back and pulled on Kakera's arm.

"Make yourself useful and ease both our headaches," Sanzo snapped at Kakera, handing her his fan and he laid the gun in his lap. "On the count of three."

"Right," Kakera answered with dazed eyes.

"Something wrong?" Sanzo asked, voice somewhat cleansed of the anger.

Taking one last look at the cliffs as they eventually disappeared into the mountain's view, Kakera let out a quick growl before turning to face a concerned Hakkai and staring Sanzo.

"Nothing, just something in the air," Kakera, seeing the fight in the back was getting out of control and she looked to the priest.

"One…," Sanzo started.

"Two…," Kakera smirked.

"Go for it, I'll clean up the mess!" Sanzo said, seeing Kakera's evil smile.

Knowing his stare and resting gun was enough for her, Kakera dove into the back and entered the fight. The two started wrestling her and more insults rose into the early sky, and Sanzo slowly counted backwards in his head and waited for his intervention.

"What's your problem?" Gojyo barked at Kakera, who suddenly smacked his face with the fan.

"Ever heard of peace and quiet!" Kakera screamed.

"Come on Kakera, let me at him!" Goku struggled against Kakera's arm hold around his neck, but soon the fan found his face as well.

"You keep your trap shut if you want to be able to taste food again!"

"For the love of…," Gojyo tried to say before the gun finally went off.

"SHUT UP AND SIT QUIETLY LIKE GOOD CHILDREN!" Sanzo barked, ready for another shot in case.

"You've got…a lot…of nerve, Sanzo," Gojyo hissed as he took one last shot at Goku before they heard Kakera let out a shriek of frustration and for the next few minutes, Kakera pummeled the rowdy Gojyo, with Hakkai and Goku laughing at the background.

"This is better than food anytime!" Goku cracked up.

"I'd have to agree also, Goku," Hakkai chuckled, but he turned to see Sanzo give out a low chuckle. "You agree, Sanzo?"

"Anything to shut those two up, I'm good," was Sanzo's brief answer as he kicked back and enjoyed the now fallen silence as Kakera slowly got back in the front and handed the fan back. "Thanks."

"No, thank you, I understand how you can't stand those two."

"Great…," the two heard Gojyo moan.

"Who wants to hitchhike?" Sanzo asked, turning around and all was silent. "That's what I thought."

To Be Continued!

* * *

A/N: Awww…such a happy, different ending don't you think? The new chapter is progress, so expect two more updates within the week. I was thinking to follow more episodes, but that still hangs in the balance, but I hope you all enjoyed my version of the episode. More unexpected things are to come… 


	11. Truth

Chapter 10

_Truth_

A few more days had passed before the party had reached the next town, Goku's stomach growling impatiently every few minutes. Silence was their ticket to relaxation on the way there from the previous incident, but little did the poor, innocent townspeople know: Goku turns deadly when he doesn't get to finish his food.

"Hey! Do you eat my pot sticker without asking me!" Goku growled loudly, the people in the restaurant turning their attention to the sudden racket.

"No I didn't, does having a low I.Q. affect your brain as well?" Gojyo wondered, unphased by the monkey's common tantrum.

"What did you say, dumb elf?"

"It's not like I needed your permission or anything. That pot sticker belonged to everyone sitting at this table, you know?"

"He has a point, Goku," Kakera reminded him, mouth full of noodles.

"Don't give me that bullshit! That was the last one, I was saving it, it was right here on my plate!" Goku burst, turning to the calm Kakera. But she just ignored the two as their little catfight continued and turned to Hakkai and Hakuryu.

"Has he been like this?" Kakera asked Hakkai with small surprise.

"Heh heh, always," Hakkai chuckled, not surprised by her question.

"How do you and Hakuryu deal with it?" she asked after swallowing her noodles and giggled when she saw Hakuryu covered his tiny ears with his wings and Hakkai nodded.

"That's right Hakuryu, just ignore it," Hakkai laughed.

"I didn't see your name written on it. It's fair game until you put it in your mouth," Gojyo suggested his theory, but Goku's thick skull couldn't comprehend it and he growled in frustration.

"So you DID take it, alright, outside!"

"Oh, so you wanna a piece of me? I'll make you cry like a baby!"

"I thought that was my job," Kakera brought up, but the demon shook his head and suddenly winked at her, which made her put her concentration back into her food.

A couple tables behind them, two guys watched with uncertainty as the two started going at it again. Since this type of situation was uncommon among their town, they couldn't help but sit back and see what was going on.

"That sure is a rowdy group over there. Man, they must be brothers," the first guy thought.

"They sure don't look alike," his friend replied.

"I feel bad for the chick sittin' through it," the guy added and his friend nodded, seeing Kakera watch with embarrassment in her seat. But they suddenly ducked as their heard Sanzo's gun go off, shaking under the plates used as shields.

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP, DO YOU WANNA DIE?" Sanzo barked, firing a few more warning shots at the dodging demons. "Now if you two are quite finished, will you sit down?"

"But Sanzo…"

"The monkey..."

"Just sit down," Kakera growled, pulling the red head down in his chair.

"All of you, shut up!" Sanzo warned and continued eating.

Once the people thought the gunshots were over their food safe from harm, most continued their meals and conversations, but two guys couldn't get enough of the strange act that happened.

"Hey, isn't that a monk's robe he's got on?" the first guy asked his friend.

"Yeah…"

"And he just fired a gun, right?"

"Yeah-," but the guy's eyes suddenly went wide when he saw Hakkai.

"Hello…," Hakkai said and both men jumped at his comment.

"W-What do you want?" the guy asked hurriedly.

"Pardon me for interrupting, but I just wanted to make sure we didn't shoot anyone," Hakkai explained humbly.

"N-No, we're fine," the guy's friend assured Hakkai quickly.

"I'm so glad to hear that, thanks for your understanding, people can be so uptight these days," Hakkai said, with Hakuryu squeaking in agreement and the two left the men to their food.

Once they paid for their food, they got up and started to leave, when two begging demons struggled against Hakkai and Kakera's holds as they reached out for their table. And once again, the townspeople paused their normal lives to witness the strange visitors.

"But there are still some spring rolls left!"

"Beer!"

"Yes yes, but if we don't hurry up, Sanzo really will shoot us," Hakkai reminded the two childish demons.

"Stop…struggling Goku! We get some before we…leave!" Kakera yelled between taking in breaths to control the heavy, struggling monkey as the door began to shut.

"Spring Rolls!"

"Beer!"

"Slow pokes," Sanzo groaned, firing away outside the restaurant.

"O-kay, that was weird," the guy's friend commented.

* * *

"WHAT? You're completely booked?" Goku squeaked.

"I'm sorry, all I have is a single room," the woman explained again.

"That's fine, we'll take it," Sanzo said to assure the woman.

"Take it? But we can't share one bed!" Hakkai objected.

"That's why you're camping outside," Sanzo corrected, looking at Goku.

"Now that I think about it, that might not be a bad idea," Gojyo thought with a sly grin, looking at Kakera beside Hakkai.

"One move and you die, carrot top," Kakera warned.

"Oh, playing hard to get, I like that," Gojyo grinned, winking at her.

'Just keep thinking that Gojyo…I'll show you hard to get,' Kakera's mind thought slyly, thinking of an evil way to get back at the perverted red head.

"Why should you get it, huh?" Goku pleaded.

"Simple, I paid for the damn room," Sanzo told them, crossing his arms and trying to keep his temper in control in front of the lady.

"Hello, the four floating heads paid for it!" Kakera reminded him.

"I have a gun," Sanzo reminded them, lashing out his gun.

"I have an idea! How about I lay out a bunch of blankets and you all can sleep together?" the woman suggested, but suddenly, the room went eerily quiet and they all looked at each other with strange looks.

"SLEEP TOGETHER!" the five asked in frightened unison.

At that moment of the woman's suggestion, Gojyo's frightened look instantly melted and his smirk returned again as he pictured him sleeping with Kakera, and she glared back at him as she pictured him running away from pissed off Sanzo and her chasing him with the gun and fan.

'What have we gotten ourselves into?' she asked herself.

"This is not good. We have one bed, three spots on the floor and five of us. That means two people will have to pair up on the floor…quite the conundrum," Hakkai sighed, rubbing the back of his head as they looked at their situation.

"You better not be expecting me to sleep down there?" Sanzo demanded.

"It's been five days since I've slept in a real bed, it's mine!" Goku whined.

"Since when did the monkey start making his own decisions?" Kakera asked Goku, ignoring his death glare in return.

"I don't like waking up to _some _familiar faces…a wager, then," Gojyo suggested and the four smirked at his, for once, bright idea.

"Okay!" Goku smiled.

"You're on," Kakera said, pounding her fist.

"Get the cards," Sanzo told Gojyo impatiently.

"Okay, let's keep this nice and simple: whoever draws the highest card gets to sleep in luxury," Gojyo explained as he quickly shuffled the cards and pulled out random, face down cards before the four.

"Kick ass," Goku said quietly, drawing his card after Sanzo.

"Fair enough," Kakera commented plainly.

"I'll take this one," Hakkai said to himself, but Hakuryu suddenly squeaked.

"What? What's up with the parrot?" Gojyo asked, looking at the dragon.

"Hakuryu says he would like to draw too," Hakkai translated.

"But you're just a car, what do you have to bet?" Gojyo demanded, but Hakuryu just squeaked again.

"I don't see why not, he drives us everywhere," Kakera admitted.

"Come on, it wouldn't be nice to leave him out," Hakkai asked.

"Alright, take one you stupid bird," Gojyo growled, letting Hakuryu draw.

"Heh, in your face buckos! I got me a king!" Goku said proudly, showing them his card.

"My gosh you're right. There's no way you can beat a king…unless you've got an ace," Gojyo smirked, seeing the hope fade from the monkey's eyes.

"Ah dang it!" Goku groaned, eyes squinting with defeat.

"What an Ace of Hearts, boys?" Kakera wondered.

"Huh?" both asked in wonder, seeing they got beat by a girl!

"Especially if it's an Ace of Spades," Sanzo corrected, plainly showing his card and watched the three cringe in defeat and throw down their cards.

"Damn it!" Gojyo hissed.

"You suck," Kakera growled, tossing her card down.

"Excuse me," Hakkai spoke up and let the others face them, and he and Hakuryu drew their cards up proudly. "But we both drew jokers, good night!"

Staring at the colored cards and the winning word on the card, the four went silent, surprised that the car and its driver actually go the bed! But Goku wasn't going to stand for it and jumped on the bed.

"I don't care what you drew, it's mine…mine!"

"Stop acting like a child!" Gojyo and Kakera scolded.

"I _am _a child, you dorks!" Goku reminded them.

"Oh grow up! Get off!" Gojyo threatened, jumping on top of the unsuspecting monkey and the fight began. "Get off!"

"I don't wanna! I don't wanna!" Goku whined, struggling against Gojyo.

"Wanna die?" Gojyo offered.

"I'm startin' to think that getting a room was a bad idea in the first place. Will any of us sleep with this noise?" Sanzo growled as he watched the unnecessary fight between the two with bored eyes.

"How were you guys able to survive with the monkey and living antennas in the first place?" Kakera wondered after quickly petting the sleepy Hakuryu, and Sanzo actually took a second to think.

"You've got a point there," Sanzo commented, nodding at her statement.

"OW!" Goku finally screaming after a tiring wrestling match.

"If you want off, say you're sorry…say you're sorry!" Gojyo commanded.

"You're the one who dealt the cards!" Goku reminded the angered half-breed, not seeing the woman walk in with tea.

"Everyone, I brought you-," the woman started before looking at the bed to see Gojyo on top of Goku and the room went silent, before she finally reacted.

"O-sorry, I'll just leave these here," and closed the door before making one last statement. "I-I swear I didn't see anything, enjoy your stay."

Making sure the woman was gone, Gojyo turned to see the other three staring at him with a weird look, so he had to ask. "Be honest with me guys, does this look…bad?"

"What, why?" Goku asked, not understanding the situation.

"Depends on you define "bad", but yes," Sanzo growled.

"What kind of question is that, anyway?" Kakera added to Gojyo.

"Never mind it, Goku. Now, please get off my bed, I'm turning in," Hakkai asked the two and they gladly moved back to the floor and the light was turned out, which was a bad idea for a certain person.

"I don't want her to get the wrong idea about me…maybe I should go after her…," Gojyo wondered, feeling someone in his sleeping spot.

"Hey, that's my spot, stupid monkey! Mover over! You had the lowest card…I said wake up! WAKE UP! I had dibs…and will you stop that infernal snoring!"

"SHUT UP!" Sanzo let out the first warning, firing away.

"Just push him to the other side, it's that easy," Kakera groaned.

"Maybe…we could," Gojyo suggested.

"PERVERTED KAPPA, GET YOUR HAND OFF ME!" Kakera shrieked, knocking him down. "THAT'S IT, YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!"

"AAAHHH, CRAZY WOMAN! SANZO, I COULD USE A LITTLE HELP HERE! DON'T JUST STAND THERE, HELP ME!" Gojyo yelled, trying to get the vicious, armed female off of him.

"How about you two shut up before I grant your death wishes?" Sanzo asked and Kakera pushed herself off of him, sending Gojyo into the wall and she stood up and sheathed her claws.

"So then, where am I supposed to sleep!" Kakera hissed.

Sanzo had the statement in his head, but he realized that he couldn't do that, no matter how much he wanted her to.

From the past few weeks, there was something about her that made him curious and more pissed off. But he just groaned and scooted over before his offer expired, and he looked at her through the darkness.

"You better not be a violent sleeper," he warned.

"Thanks for the offer, really, but I think I'll just take the floor beside the bed. Goodnight," Kakera assured the angered priest, grabbed a blanket and unused pillow from under Goku soon fell asleep on the stone floor.

'Where have I heard that statement before?' Sanzo wondered before letting it go and fell asleep.

Outside, far away from the town, Homura watched the vast night sky twinkle like a million pinpricks of sunlight through a piece of dark fabric.

'I'll say it for this Konzen, if nothing else; the lower world is not predictable. I don't blame you for forgetting about the heavens after you were reborn, that place must've bored you to death,'

Homura's mind wondered, feeling the cool breeze ruffle his swaying robe. 'But I'll say this as well Konzen, you'll enjoy what secret your new companion has to offer you.'

* * *

Late into the night, while the party was sound asleep in their own worlds, someone decided to visit them. Her hand gently caressed Sanzo's chin, but not knowing he was a light sleeper, he smacked her hand away and glared into the darkness.

"Who are you?" he demanded quietly.

"Don't look so surprised Konzen Douji…oh I'm sorry I mean Genjo Sanzo of course," the Merciful Goddess assured the boiling blonde.

"I asked who you were," Sanzo asked again.

"A goddess," she said simply.

"Oh please, not another one," Sanzo groaned in annoyance.

"Step outside, we need to talk," she told him calmly.

"Heh, I'm not going anywhere…," he began before he found himself outside the hotel, looking at the woman before him who disrupted his sleep.

"You know it's virtually impossible to resist me, don't you Genjo Sanzo?" she wondered, smirking at his fiery violet eyes.

"A bodhisattva?" he asked.

"That's me," she replied, glad he remembered her name.

"Not so irresistible," he reminded her.

"There's no need to be so hostile, after all, we shared a kiss once," she mentioned, standing her ground as his gun made its appearance. "You'll need a bigger gun to impress me."

"I've had just about enough of following your stupid orders," he hissed.

"You think preventing the resurrection of Gyumaoh is stupid?"

"It was you…you made me take Gojyo, Hakkai, Goku and now Kakera on this trek, didn't you?" he questioned, now realizing the cause of his slow mission to the west.

"You bet, aren't they so much fun?" she wanted to know.

"They're a pain in the ass," he informed her fake curiosity. "I could've finished this without them by now!"

"I suppose so, but I've loved you four for so long, I couldn't leave anyone behind," she expressed freely.

'Four, what's going on?' Sanzo wondered, growing annoyed and decided to take things to the next level.

"Die, you damn hag!" But the shots only penetrated the wall as the goddess disappeared and then reappeared again, smiling at his growing anger.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?" she realized.

"So, tell me what you want lady," Sanzo demanded calmly, the anger fading.

"I thought I'd remind you of something," she began.

"What's that?" he wondered.

A sleepy and innocent eye, awakened from the past gunshots, slowly got up from the floor and looked out the window to see Sanzo talking with a woman. Hearing the first line of a lesson she once heard in the past, she recited it with him softly.

"The most important lesson your master, Komeyou Sanzo passed down to you. To hold nothing," she explained, letting him finish the rest.

"If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha. If you meet your father, kill your father. Free of everything, you are bound by nothing. Live the life that is given to you. I could never forget those words," Sanzo recited, feeling a small prick of pain for the death of his master.

"Is that so? Then I'm proud of you. The road you travel upon will become more treacherous as you go, and believe me, that teaching and something else will provide the hope you need to carry on. Never forget that. Don't disappoint me," she informed him, getting ready to leave when she saw hesitation in his eyes.

"Wait, what's that "something else" you mentioned?" Sanzo demanded, the suspense boiling his blood to the ending point, and she smirked at his question.

"Ask her…," she told him and Kakera suddenly appeared outside behind Sanzo, and turned back to him.

"I'll be watching, you five are the only entertainment I have these days," she concluded and was gone, leaving a small rainstorm to provide a little noise.

"Who was that?" Kakera finally asked after a long silence.

"How should I know?" he snapped back.

"What was she talking about anyway? I don't know anything…" Her voice faded from his ears as he looked to see a gold chain around her neck, something he hadn't seen before and he snapped it off her neck.

"What are you doing, Sanzo!" she barked angrily, but his gaze held her.

Feeling the rain gently landing on his hair and started coming down, he gently opened the pendant and his face went white: he saw a small, crinkled photo of her father, a woman smiling and a small girl smiling at the picture, all three looking happy.

"Sanzo…," Kakera whispered, but she suddenly let out a small gasp as he suddenly pushed her against the stone wall, hands feeling like stone on her shoulders. "Please…I…I didn't…"

"N-NO…YOU…CAN'T BE!" he screamed, his eyes becoming alive again.

"Sanzo, look at me and tell me what you see!" she yelled in tears.

He did look at her, very closely and he could see the small resemblances: nice complexion, gentle eyes, and he swore that he could see the man in her eyes.

No longer having any control over the wall surrounding his emotions, he felt tiny tears start to fall down his face as his hands released her and he looked down at them to see the same blood he saw those years ago.

"I…I…couldn't save him…," the same line escaped his lips.

She gasped, suddenly remembering that she saw his face that night, remembering that she was there that night her father was murdered, her hands also covered in his blood.

The paleness of his skin as he fell to the floor and gave one last gentle look at her, she suddenly knew what really happened that night all those years ago.

"You did it…," he hissed, the fury making his hands shake.

"Sanzo…you don't…," she tried to explain.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled, the tears coming down faster as the wall disintegrated. But he eventually fell to his knees and covered his face, wanting the pain to stop making him look weak.

"I didn't know until…I had no choice. But…no one...could save him," she wheezed against the painful stab within her as she embraced him tenderly, but loosely.

Memories of his master, his training, sending the bear away, running scared through, everything rushed into his mind. Feeling the comfort and familiar presence of his master rush through his veins, he held her firmly and protectively against his shaking body.

'So that's why she irritated me so much,' his mind realized.

After a few seconds, she gently released him and stood up, not feeling the strength to say one word.

Feeling his true mood begin to return, he shook his head and followed her to the door, but he stayed under the shade of the protection above the door.

"Well, goodnight then."

"Wait…"

"What?"

He just looked at her again, but instead he saw the resemblance of the man who saved him and raised him. He then shook the memories away and looked away. She got the idea and walked back inside.

'Master, I no longer have regret,' his mind sighed as sleep consumed him again.

-Morning-

"Ah, what a morning!" Hakkai exclaimed as he stretched after a good night sleep, not seeing Sanzo sitting down outside the door.

"You think so?" Sanzo asked calmly, looking towards him.

"Oh there you are, I was wondering where you crashed out," Gojyo said with surprise, not remembering the priest leaving the room the night before.

"Was it that we couldn't hear you snoring?" Goku asked with a goofy grin, but all that did was get a treat called "White Fan Surprise."

"Lay down and…shut up," Sanzo growled.

"Sure looks like Sanzo needs anger management," Gojyo suggested.

"If you don't get moving, I'll show you anger management!" Sanzo threatened, his violet glowing from the flames of frustration behind them.

"But we haven't had breakfast yet…," Goku whined.

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME, NOW MOVE!" Sanzo exploded.

"Yes sir," Hakkai responded.

"You're in a bad mood, what's your problem?" Goku demanded, which made Sanzo turn around and look at the three confused guys.

"I just had a rude awakening," was all Sanzo said before he walked away.

"Kakera, do you know what's going on?" Hakkai wondered, turning to see the sleepy brunette stretching as she walked out. But she just started to follow behind the priest, turning around as she heard his question.

"Don't ask, guys," was all she said before getting back on the road, feeling that the West was getting closer as they left the town.


	12. Grudge

A/N: Hello and welcome back, I'm back with more great chapters! These next couple chapters will revolve around episodes 44-50 (volumes 11 and 12), and you guys will learn a secret relationship (good…or bad….) Just enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 12

Grudge

Thunder bellowed outside the chapel, the sky dark and secretly displaying the atmosphere inside the building between a horde of demons, a sea of lit candles and three abnormal guys.

"You know, I admit I'm not up to this today," Sanzo said, looking at the demons with a lazy, angry glaze in his eyes. They growled in response, trying not to waste words.

"Maybe we could make a game out of it, help improve your interest a little bit," Gojyo suggested slyly, hoping the monk would ease up to join the fun he wanted him to create.

"I bet I could take out the first wave before they reach the halfway mark," Sanzo challenged, thrusting his gun forward.

"Didn't know you had a playful side to ya, monk."

The demons didn't take their time to charge, hoping to satisfy their long awaiting carnage towards the group. But five shots were all it took to disintegrate and the rest of them stopped dead in their tracks.

"That's a good way to relieve stress," Sanzo admitted.

"You need that too," Gojyo added, trying not to laugh.

Hakkai couldn't help but chuckle though as he looked up at the several circle windows. "What's keeping Goku and Kakera so long, anyway? They're missing the fun."

Speak of the devil, the largest circle window above the unsuspecting horde of demons shattered, and the two demons jumped down and landed on the simple wooden altar.

"Did you miss us?" he wondered with a smile.

"From the looks on their faces, I bet they did," she said, claws glinting. "But how many can you kill than me?"

He grinned at the challenge and the three sat back and watched the show.

-Homura's Castle-

The god of war opened his eyes, after a long trip down memory lane, and got up to walk towards the double doors.

"You're finally ready, aren't you?" Zenon asked.

"Yeah," Homura answered simply, feeling Shien appear.

"So the time has come," Shien said aloud.

"No explanations…no motivational speeches…just say the word, man," Zenon reminded him, wanting this to be a simple parting for them to the next step in their mission.

"If you're ready, there's only one thing we need to hear from you," Shien said, his soul crying out for action.

"Zenon…Shien…let's go," Homura commanded quietly and opened the doors. This time, he would get even with them, possibly for good.

-

It didn't seem too long before the last demon's agonizing scream came and Goku stood up, staff disappearing.

"Beat that, guys!" Goku challenged, the last candle blowing out.

"Did I just see that? All those demons in five minutes…by those two?" Gojyo asked himself, still surprised at their teamwork, and improving skills.

"I don't know why we even bother fighting them anymore. Pretty soon we'll just sit back and let them do all the work," Hakkai wondered, his thoughts couldn't helping being heard out loud.

"Soon they won't need us at all," Gojyo echoed. "Freaky…"

"Are you alright?" Hakkai asked, looking over. "Sanzo?"

"Yeah, sure," Sanzo said after a brief pause.

"So, how did I do? Did I win, did I?" Goku asked with small thumbs up at his accomplishment.

"Not even close…," Kakera said, pausing to trip the unknowing monkey. "Not in a thousand years, monkey." She put away her claws and walked over to the guys, secretly awaiting food after a "hard day's work".

People talked, shouted and shoved along the crowded street as the five looked around for a restaurant, with Goku and his empty stomach leading the way. "Hmmm, what should we get? Egg rolls? Romaine? Peeking Duck? Or a nice vitiation bowl with a side of meat buns!" he asked himself, his stomach agreeing with every choice he said.

'I just really wish he'd shut up sometime soon…not to mention leaving some for those who haven't eaten in a couple do days,' Kakera sighed in her head, holding her stomach from the pains of on-coming hunger.

"Everything you listed is Chinese food," Gojyo reminded the chimp.

"You're kidding…," he said, not sure what to believe.

"Good grief," Gojyo said to himself.

"Why does it matter? At this point, I'll eat anything," Hakkai said happily.

"Moron…," Sanzo whispered.

"What, no "paper fan" today?" Hakkai asked with sarcastic curiosity.

'Maybe that's what the monkey should have instead,' Kakera thought slyly.

"I don't have the energy," Sanzo replied and Kakera rolled her eyes.

"Look Sanzo, you're going to look like an old man if you're tense all the time. You should learn to relax a little bit, it wouldn't kill you," Hakkai suggested calmly, hoping the monk would buy it.

"I couldn't afford to let my guard down for one second," Sanzo warned.

"But there are other ways of-," she started before looking forward.

Standing in front of them, with the people oblivious, were their three enemies. They didn't expect them to show up, unless they really wanted a fight right then, at that moment.

"Not again…," Gojyo said with an edge of annoyance to his words.

'I knew they'd be back for more,' Kakera said with a deadly smile.

"So, how's it gonna be? If we throw it down here, we might destroy the entire city. Well, not that it matters to either of us anyway…," Zenon began, his mind laughing of the oblivious people.

"Hey buddy, your pick. It doesn't bother us either," Gojyo confirmed.

"So, what is it you want this time?" Sanzo demanded impatiently.

"Or is it too presumptuous to assume this is a coincidence?" Hakkai added.

"It's not…it never is with them," Kakera said icily, stepping forward.

"Toying with you guys doesn't amuse me anymore. So, this is your last chance to hand over the Maten Scripture…without incidence," Homura proposed playfully, knowing it struck a nerve.

"Is that so?" Sanzo asked.

"If it comes to a fight, there will be no mercy this time," he concluded, smiling at Kakera.

"So you finally decided to get serious," Sanzo commented.

"Let's hop to it! I wanna get this over with before the restaurants close!" Goku whined, feeling his stomach trying to take over.

"Not so fast, monkey!" Kakera said with a firm hand his shoulder. "Overreaction isn't necessary just yet."

"You have until morning," Homura said quietly, but seriously.

"Oh boy…here we go…," Gojyo said to himself.

"I expect your answer first thing tomorrow morning," Homura continued.

"You already know _my _answer, Homura," Kakera hissed.

"Stop you're stalling, you already know our answer to that," Sanzo said, actually agreeing with Kakera's comment.

"Please take your time, sleep on it," Homura teased slyly.

"By the way, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," Sanzo said, not bothering at really looking at the War Prince.

"What's that?" Homura asked unnervingly.

"This superiority of yours…is pissing me off," Sanzo said bluntly.

Homura simply laughed and smiled. "Has it been so long…that you've forgotten?"

"What do you mean?" Sanzo pressed, confused in mind.

"Surely, you must remember what Heaven is like: you have all the time in the universe, especially when the game just got interesting…," Homura finished, looking at her rather than seeing Sanzo on his side view.

"I haven't forgotten," Kakera said, almost too quietly to hear.

"Don't wait too long for us tomorrow…we're pretty bad at keeping our appointments," Gojyo remarked, bringing the two back to reality.

"Are you planning to run?" Shien mocked the half-demon.

"Excuse me?" Gojyo said a little louder.

"It just sounded like you were planning to run from us," Shien said simply.

"Like hell I am," Gojyo said, trying to keep control.

"Shut up Gojyo…," Kakera paused, gripping his arm fiercely and glaring at him. "They get the point already."

"I, for one, am planning on sleeping in late tomorrow," Hakkai finally spoke.

"Don't worry about it, you'll rest in peace for a long time-," he grunted, his sentence ripped off when he felt a silver spike penetrate his shoulder. He saw who it was and pulled it out easily, ignoring the small amount of blood flow.

"Maybe you should make that an option on our behalf," Kakera challenged.

"I'll put that on my to-do list," Zenon responded with a grin.

"You should get some beauty rest there yourself, Cyclops," Gojyo added.

"I assure you, I'll have no trouble with both tonight," Zenon replied, keeping the anger in his mind strained as they started to walk away. "Sleep tight guys, this will be your last night on Earth."

They vanished and the city streets went back to normal, but they couldn't hide the anticipation and suspense on their faces as they found a restaurant to eat.

"This doesn't sit well with me…," Gojyo said quietly.

"What you mean, this is delicious!" Goku said, thinking he was crazy.

"Will you shut up and eat? I'm talking about Homura," Gojyo corrected him stonily.

"Hey, you don't have to ask me twice," Goku said and dug in again.

"I feel like the mouse the cat plays with just before it kills the mouse. Why don't they just take what they want? It should be easy with someone of their powers," Hakkai said in mild annoyance, tired of the stalemate battles they'd encounter with the trio of gods.

"I'll bet they're really confident…really polite…or really bored," Gojyo said, the last part creating a strange moment around them.

"Don't get cocky Gojyo, they have a reason for their choices," Kakera said, drinking the rest of her water before she planned on not saying anything else for a while. She caught Sanzo staring at her, but she just looked away and watched Goku eat.

"I'm goin' on a limb here with all the above," Hakkai answered Gojyo.

'Idiots…,' Kakera's mind sighed, bored of the atmosphere already.

"We know they want the Maten Scripture, so that gives us a foundation for our defenses," Hakkai reminded them, hoping to close the gap on uncertainty between all of them.

"Defenses, more like defenseless if you ask me," Gojyo snapped back.

"Th-ank you, at least someone agrees with me here!" Kakera said, throwing up her arms as if to thanking the heavens. But everyone went quiet when Sanzo stood up from his chair.

"Humph, I don't care if they are gods. We eliminate anyone stupid enough to stand in our way," he reminded them with cold eyes and started walking out.

Kakera copied the monk, leaving a tip by her bare plate. "That pretty much sums it up."

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Goku asked, seeing them exit the place. He decided to leave his glorious feast to find Sanzo and demand what was going on he didn't know about.

"Where'd she go?" he asked Sanzo innocently, but the monk shook his head.

"I'm not her watcher! Now go away!"

"Come on, tell me what's bothering you," Goku pressed carefully.

"Do you have to be such a pest?" Sanzo had to ask through is teeth.

"See, this is how you always act when something's wrong, I can tell," he told him, curious what Sanzo was thinking.

"Oh, is that right?" he asked sarcastically.

"Look I'll stop pestering you if you buy me a meat bun," Goku proposed, knowing the monk would agree to his deal.

"We just ate for crying out loud," Sanzo retaliated coldly.

"I can't help it…walking gives me an appetite," the monkey almost whined. "Please, just one little one?"

Both stopped and Sanzo grunted at the chimp's question. "I just gave you…damn." He turned his heel and walked back towards town and Goku jumped up and down.

"Yeah! Meat bun meat bun!" Goku yelled in victory.

-

Kakera watched them walk back into town and she couldn't help but smirk at the unknown powers the monkey had over the tense monk. Hearing the conversation, she guessed Sanzo was catching up to her, from what happened between her and Zenon in the street.

"Needed some air?" a voice said behind her.

She turned to see Hakkai by himself and decided she could handle his presence for a little while longer, and stepped to the side so he could join her watch the two disappear into the crowd of faces.

"I guess, that restaurant was getting really stuffy," she said blankly.

He paused and looked at her watch the river, seeing something was on her mind. He didn't want to pry, but on the other hand, he'd wonder about it all night.

"Do you know Homura really well?" he said calmly, looking out as well.

"You saw what happened between me and Zenon," she trailed off, thinking of the incident herself. "That wasn't supposed to happen; I got out of line from Homura told us."

"You really can tell me if you want," he said, not wanting any more cover ups from her. "Otherwise, I'll be wondering about it all night."

She sighed, thinking she could trust him after all. The other three didn't seem worthy of hearing her story, for the atmosphere around each other wouldn't be the same, despite the circumstances.

"When someone is reincarnated, they have the chance of losing their memories of Heaven and never know who they were," she began, trying to choose her words carefully. "But I remember everything I saw of Heaven. Who I was, what my occupation was, who I met and where I even lived. Even though you did have the time in the universe, like Homura said, it drove some people mad."

One day I a message saying my sister was being taken away because she'd fallen in love with a "heretic" god, and that pissed me off. But when I realized it was Homura, I swore he would pay…"

She looked to see his eyes wide, knowing she said too much. Though it felt therapeutic to get her memories out in the open, she closed her eyes and dropped her head down.

"I said too much," she whispered.

"You…remember Heaven? But you're just-," he tried to say.

"I know Hakkai, but since my family was gods, I stayed up there as a soldier of the highest military. I possessed abnormal strength and courage in battle no other god ever saw, and I was called "Lady Murder" for those attributes. But even though I have reincarnated, I still have the same personality and memories, just not my full potential in battle," she explained, her hands making fists.

He saw he'd struck a nerve with her and guilt consumed him. "Sorry I invaded your privacy." He started to walk away, but she held his arm and looked back at him with sincere, yet misty eyes.

"Don't tell them, I need to handle this on my own," she begged him.

He gently removed her hand and held it for a moment, looking at he saw before him, and gave a small smile. "It'll be our little secret."

She gave a sigh of relief as she heard him walk away and hoped she would be able to handle this life-long grudge, but without incident or realization from the others.

'It's going to be a long night,' she confirmed and headed to the hotel room.

"Hey Hakkai, how is she?" Gojyo asked with brief concern.

"Oh, she's just…thinking," was all he said.

"Do you think…we can take these guys?" Gojyo wondered.

"Who knows, it sure felt we were outmatched in our last encounter, if you ask me," Hakkai said with an uncertain sigh, the odds actually coming to his mind as he stared into his drink.

"We'll find out, won't we?...Huh?" Gojyo said and looked to the door.

Both almost jumped out their stools when they saw Zenon and Shien in the soft, scarce light that lit the building. They grinned as they sat a few stools from the surprised demons, and acknowledged the bartender.

"A shot of your strongest," Zenon said.

"Oolong tea, please," Shien said quietly and the bartender got to work.

"And a round for our friends there," Zenon added.

Gojyo pounded his fists into the counter and stood up, turning to the two unmoved gods. "I don't like this crowd, Hakkai. Let's find some place that doesn't leave a bad taste in my mouth."

"Ease back on the testosterone. The fight's tomorrow, remember?" Zenon reminded the half demon, taking a small drink.

"I've never been patient," Gojyo snapped back.

"What an oaf…," Shien said as if in thought.

"What was that?" Gojyo challenged as quickly.

"I knew someone who often spoke like that…," Shien said, remembering a certain general who said blossoms were good, women were better, but a good wine is heaven. "I can never know the pleasures of a good wine, but I think I know what that man was trying to say."

"Huh, I'd like to meet this guy sometime…so, any chance of introducing an oaf like to me to some of these women you've talked about?" Gojyo asked with sly curiosity. "O illustrious one?"

"I'm afraid I don't know any women, but there are some flowers right there," Shien pointed to a glass with flowers labeled on them.

"Pretty neat trick. What is this, fattening the bird before taking it to the slaughter?" Gojyo questioned, tired of the games the gods played.

"It doesn't matter, this situation will dealt with tomorrow," Hakkai said.

"Well put my friend, well put indeed," Zenon said, taking another drink.

"I'll drink that," Gojyo said briskly, raising his glass.

When the two returned to the hotel room, they saw Kakera sound asleep in the bed next to Sanzo's, who was smoking by the window. They saw Goku tossing and turning, and then went their own room to save their strength. Soon, the whole town went silent with peaceful slumber, but someone jus couldn't sleep.

"It's useless, I can't sleep," Goku hissed, getting up from bed to outside.

He looked at the perfect view at the hill where the moon just peaked behind, the piles of stones marking fallen people. He smiled at the moon. "Tomorrow….tomorrow's the big day."

"Can't sleep?" a rough voice asked. He saw Sanzo staring at him.

"No…say Sanzo, you think the weather will be good tomorrow?" Goku asked innocently.

"That settles it, you're an idiot," Sanzo said aloud.

"Why am I an idiot? It's just…," Goku tried to say.

"Just what?" Sanzo echoed.

"It's just, I keep thinking of bashing Homura's face in tomorrow. I'm going crazy," Goku whispered his answer.

"It's not like it's your birthday you know," the priest added.

Goku threw a punch forward, relieving some of his anticipation. "I know that, but I think I can really beat him."

"Just get some sleep, will ya?" Sanzo turned and started walking back inside when he decided to say one more thing, even though it wasn't really necessary. "Judging from the evening sky, it should be a nice day tomorrow."

Homura saw the monk disappear back into his room and looked back to the hill with a bigger grin than when he walked out. "Homura, the day is mine."

Not too far away, hidden from demon view, Homura looked down at the sleeping city. Though suspense of the upcoming battle was also driving him crazy, his mind couldn't help but talk to ease its wondering.

He remembered himself being bound in chains on the floor, fearfully watching the slowly swinging blade above gradually descend. 'I was bound and tortured for being a heretic, a blotch spot in a white marsh paradise. And then, the one I loved was taken, and that human killing machine never forgave me for her sister's fate.

So I rebelled against the Heavens, with the same scorn she and everyone else showed me. And what have I gained? Why do I wage this war? To create a new Heaven and Earth, or is it…something else?'

He thought back to the day before he was reincarnated, the confrontation he had with the 'human killing machine'. They had made a bet to each other, one sealed active for all eternity, even after they were reborn. He thought back to what she said to him, just hours before his fate.

_'And if I win, you will pay for what you made my sister suffer, and know what Death truly means. You will free anything you take from me, and your existence shall no longer linger in my mind.'_

'_Agreed, then,' he said coldly and grabbed her hand._

_He looked at her as they slowly dragged him away from the cell, smiling a cruel smile at her as he whispered a simple, yet effective chant that begin their bet. He heard her screams before the door was shut, and his fate would stand before him._

'_Let the battle begin, Kakera, or should I say 'Lady Murder…'_

He paused his reflection again to open his eyes, sensing that dawn was very near. The mere memory of what had happened that day fueled his blood with a long forgotten grudge against her.

'That's right, that's why…,' his mind concluded with a laugh.

The cracks of dawn finally appeared on top of the mountains as Homura and his two companions looked to the five before them. The final moments of rest had faded, and only fate would decide who would emerge victorious.

"I'm waiting, what is your reply?" Homura finally asked.

The five simply glared back, dying to get this unnecessary battle done and over with. They prepared their weapons and let Sanzo do the talking.

"Go shopping for scriptures somewhere else, scum," the priest spat.

Homura slightly looked down, closing his yes to focus. "Are you sure this is how you want it?"

"It's your show, Goku," Gojyo told the monkey.

Kakera looked at the War Prince, who now was on his feet and ready for the battle. Her heart and mind glared at his very presence, but her lips couldn't help but grin at her own battle to come.

"Remember it's the Maten Scripture they're after," Hakkai said sternly.

"So I have to beat them first?" Goku added.

"That's what it comes down to, yes," Hakkai said back, not looking back.

Kakera looked at Sanzo, who also held the glance with her, and she nodded and stepped aside for a moment, knowing her time wasn't just yet. She had intentions he had an idea of her grim relationship with the War Prince, but his opinion didn't matter to her anymore as sat down and began to focus.

"That's what it always comes down to, doesn't it?" Gojyo said slyly.

"Whatever happens happens," Sanzo said coldly, gun at his side.

"So, can we get this party started then?" Zenon almost pleaded.

"Yes, I think we've delayed long enough…," Shien agreed.

"Let the battle begin," Homura confirmed and the winds of battle blew.

Goku twirled his staff to prepare his arms for the power he needed, closed his eyes and focused internally on the battle about to take place. 'I haven't forgotten our last meeting, Homura.' He thought back to when Homura kicked his trash, but the man told him to get stronger, and that's what he hoped he had accomplished. 'Well Homura, today you get your wish. Let's see how strong I really am!'

He opened his eyes to behold the god standing not too far from him, the atmosphere changing to tense and powerful. Homura took the first turn and charged toward the monkey.

"Come and get me!"

"HOMURA!"

"Ready to rumble," Zenon smirked and started firing.

"We're coming for you now," Shien said, charging at Sanzo.

Kakera just sat and focused, saving her energy for the battle she'd waited for her entire life. She listened to them fight, not caring what the outcome really ended up being, except that she would still be able to help them live a little longer.

But her senses broke when she felt Sanzo become prey to Homura, and she snapped her eyes open. She Gojyo, Hakkai and Goku struggling against the two gods while Homura slashed at Sanzo and priest fell the ground. He was about to take the scripture when he looked to see Kakera a few feet from him.

"It's just and me now, Homura," she said stonily, claws shining.

"Yes…I guess you're right," Homura replied with a short chuckle. "Shall we fight for the scripture, then, since that's what you want to protect, isn't that right?"

"You know my rules, Homura," was all she said, feet firmly planted.

He set the scripture down and turned, but sensed Sanzo's presence as he tried to stand up, gun in his hand.

"Homura…you…bastard…," he stammered, shooting at a random angle since his vision was impaired. "Son…of a…" He fell unconscious within seconds and went still.

"Well then, let's begin now that the stakes have been set," Homura said and a thin, red shield engulfed the two fighters. "Let's get this over with!"

"Fine, but I have one thing to show you first," Kakera said, reaching for her first power limiter. Her powers have been acting different lately, so she guessed they would be safer to use without any harmful side effects. She easily tore the first ring off and fell to her knees at the level of power that flowed through her.

Two, black wings suddenly popped out from her back and she stood after a few seconds, eyes hungry and misty with power. She watched Homura charge towards her, closed her eyes and said a few foreign words and several feathers spread out and disappeared.

"Come and get me!"

"Bring it on, Homura!"

The men outside could only watch in wonder as the battle began, both moving almost too fast for them to see. They sensed the shield would singe their skin, or disintegrate them so they stayed back and watched. Who was on what side didn't matter for those minutes, for everything was being placed on the plate before them.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Hope you guys liked that one, that was episode 44 but it will be continued in the next one. Please any comments on your way out, and another important chapter will be posted very soon.


	13. Grudge Part 2

Chapter 12

Grudge Part 2

Flashes of glinting silver and roaring fire was all the watchers could see for what seemed like an eternity. The two fighters didn't show any sign of fatigue, which some question the nature of Kakera.  
'As far as I know, she's just a mere human. It's impossible that she could barely match one such as Homura. I wonder…,' Hakkai wondered, watching the two fighters begin to slow down.  
"Hey Hakkai, now's not a good time to think!" Gojyo yelled in his ear.  
Hakkai quickly stitched his senses back together and looked seriously at Gojyo, who now seemed baffled. "I'm beginning to question Kakera."  
"What do ya mean?" Gojyo replied back seriously, turning back to the fight.  
"Just watch, you might understand what I mean," Hakkai advised him.  
Within the strange shield, the two fighters decided that "warm-up time" was over and to give the viewers a good show. Both could sense the presence of sweat running down their faces, but none showed weakness or fatigue in the eyes.  
"You haven't lost your touch, Kakera," Homura remarked with a sly smile.  
"Neither have you, "God of War"," she replied back in a short breath.  
But before anymore sarcasm could be resurrected, Homura vanished, leaving Kakera spinning in all directions. The deep vibrations of the lively shield vibrated violently in her ears as she focused her senses on his essence, but the vibrations seemed to throwing her focus off balance. Though panic was a fatal weakness in battle, Kakera's body couldn't help but show it.  
"Let's give them a good show, shall we?" Homura whispered seductively.  
His quiet, abrupt chuckle began fuzzy in her ears as she felt a sickening crack erupt in her right knee, feeling the blood release itself in all directions in her body. She couldn't prevent falling to the ground, but her scream was filtered through by a deep hiss of hatred, and then a laugh that made the watcher's blood run cold.  
"Don't take all the glory! I'm just…getting…started," she said between intervals of pure hysteria. She watched his face slowly turn pale, for he knew what she was capable of. With a few flaps of her midnight colored wings, she copied his vanishing act.  
Hakkai looked over at Gojyo next to him, whose face was shocked at the images he saw just a few moments before. "Do you see what I meant now?"  
Gojyo could only nod at his partner, his eyes glued to the frustrated Homura, who was dashing in circles and eyes searching the barren area for Kakera. He thought back to when they first met her up until a few moments ago, and didn't know who the real Kakera was anymore. His head pulsed with pain at trying to gather any facts he could to determine who- or what she really was.  
_Pulse…Pulse…Pulse…_  
The annoying sound drove Homura to the brink of complete madness every few seconds the shield let out its intimidating voice. Sweat of the heat and uncertainty rose on his skin and dampened the ends of his dark hair.  
'Where are you?' he kept asking himself.  
He kept swinging his sword in every direction he turned; hoping to strike her without warning, but only air was slashed by his fire clad sword. The show he wanted seemed to be going well, but he still hoped he would have a finale he's been planning for far too long.  
"This is my very favorite part, Homura," Kakera whispered with a wicked delight, feeling the power consume her essence as she struck.  
First, her good leg plunged the sharp heel into his foot, causing small spurts of blood to free itself onto the ground. Then, with a graceful but fast twirl to behind him, her arm collided with his back, making his head snap back. Next, the feathers, which had disappeared before the fight, suddenly dove from the sky like nine people falling to their deaths. They formed a circle on his chest, each feather burning away once they made their mark. With another graceful, swift twirl, she appeared before him again and let one clawed finger connect the nine dots and let the blood slowly drip down his muscles. His scream of agony shook the foundation of the shield.  
"I'm doing this just for you, War Prince, just in case you don't remember," she whispered coldly in his ear and finished connecting the dots and taking a few steps back to let her trick come into effect. She wanted to show his minions what she was capable of, just in case they would come after her in the name of revenge.  
"Are you watching this, Zenon?" Shien said quietly, no emotion as always.  
"Y-Yeah, I'm watchin'," Zenon responded, shock paralyzing his nerves.  
"I remember her now," Shien commented, folding his arms in impatience.  
"Yeah, you're right, she does look familiar," Zenon said, understanding what the quiet man was saying. "When should we step in?"  
Shien looked over the stiff man beside him, and then back to Homura. "All in good time, Zenon. All in good time."  
Homura ceased his scream of agony by biting his tongue, refusing to let this girl crack him. The pain was unlike anything he's ever felt on Earth, but he knew if he lost his sense of reality now, he might not be able to win the bet. But as the mark on his chest deepened, he looked down to see the thick, black essence ooze out from the mark. His eyes went wide with fear; he realized what had really happened back in Heaven.  
"You remember now I see, about time, I was beginning to think my little show wouldn't be as "educational" as I thought it would be," Kakera said aloud as she walked around Homura, feeling the next step come into play. She stopped in front of him, seeing the effects of the circle were coming into play. Both of them, in no time at all, could hear the whispers of the ancient language they heard back in Heaven.  
Homura could now see the real color of Kakera's essence; he could see it on her forehead. He suddenly remembered the tomb he stumbled upon that night, the harsh whispers that echoed in the ancient walls, and the screams that pounded on the walls the following night.  
'It can't be…how could I let this happen?' he asked himself.  
"That's a very good question Homura, but you don't need to worry anymore," Kakera reminded him, sheathing out her claws again, her wings flapping with obvious excitement. Her hand clawed playfully on the circle, seeing his body's terrified reaction to every touch.  
She raised her hand, yelling the same words of the voices they'd heard…  
The foundation pulsed with fear that fed her twisted senses…  
Hakkai, Gojyo and Goku watched with shock, no words spoken…  
_Pulse…Pulse…Pulse…_  
CRACK! SNAP!  
Everyone outside the failing shield stood frozen as they saw Homura strike at her damaged knee, a siren like wail making them cover their ears. The black essence still oozed from the circle wound on his chest, but they figured the incantation she spoke that was interrupted snapped him back to reality.  
"I think we need to redo the ending, my dear," he purred and brought up his knee to her raised arm.  
The impact on her arm made her turn, but her eyes went wide as she felt his kick collide with her neck. The sickening crack caused her nerves to endure a painful shock as she was sent flying into the shield.  
Skin began to singe with the angry vibrations…  
Nerves endured the intensifying shock…  
Air rushed from her lungs as she felt something pin her to the ground…  
Sanzo's bleeding, unconscious body a few feet away… "KAKERA!" Goku yelled and tried to run to help, but the other two restrained him. "LET ME GO DAMN IT, SHE'S HURT! WE HAVE TO HELP HER!"  
"We can't Goku…not while the shield is still up," Hakkai said with clinging horror. The sound of the man's voice made Goku stop struggling and stop and stare at the God of War stand over the fallen Kakera.  
She felt her hand in front of her twitch as she tried to get up, but as what was pinning her down was released out of her, she bit down a small scream as she felt her wings disappear.  
"I'll take this if you don't mind. Looks like I have the upper hand once again," Homura smirked and grabbed the Maten Scripture from her waist, and then turned to Gojyo. General Kenren, tell Goku if he wants the scripture, we'll be waiting in the Tower of Conran. I'll be waiting…"  
"H-Homura…you b-bastard…," Kakera wheezed, letting the last of her power to grasp the scripture in Homura's hand. "You…son of a…"  
A quick clanking sound of silver snapped at the silence as Homura smirked and watched as the fire from her eyes fade out as she fell to the floor, back in human essence and near death.  
"Sanzo!" Gojyo yelled dryly. "Kakera…"  
"That's what I like about you both, Konzen," Homura whispered with a chuckle, looking down at the injured priest. "Zenon…Shien…let's go."  
Within the vanishing of their opponents, the shield shattered into the setting sky and the three ran to see if they could save their two companions. Questions still swam through their heads of the previous fight, but they pushed them aside and ran them to safe place to recover.

They were fortunate to find an abandoned cabin a few miles from the battle site. While Goku was out, Hakkai stared at the blazing fire, and Gojyo looked down at the two injured people on the floor. Neither one made a sign of life nor they were pulling through. "This is really pathetic," Gojyo said after lighting a cigarette.  
"Hey hey hey, who's the man? Check out the catch I got, you guys!" Goku squealed in victory, holding up several fresh fish. He immediately sat down and started counting them, hoping there would be enough for everyone.  
"Stupid monkey," Gojyo whispered under his cigarette.  
"Ten…Eleven…there, that makes two each…but wait, that leaves one extra. Well, I think I should have it since I caught them all…yeah, that's totally fair," Goku said to himself, his stomach demanding food.  
"What do you mean, you get the extra one? There's someone else unconscious who needs to eat here!" Gojyo snapped, restraining from smacking the monkey's brains out.  
"My…my…," Hakkai said, not surprised at the situation.  
"Hakkai, are you hearing this?" Gojyo snapped at the quiet man.  
Once most of the fish had been consumed and the others safely packed away, Hakkai couldn't notice the monkey tossing and turning on the floor next to him.  
"Having trouble sleeping?" He asked Goku quietly.  
Goku, back to Hakkai, took a minute to speak. "Will they be…alright?"  
"I'm sure they'll pull through," Hakkai assured the monkey, silence arriving.

"_Are you sure this is what you want, Rinrei?" Kakera asked while playing her harp, the summer breeze playing with her hair._  
"_Yes, I've thought about it for a long time now," Rinrei answered._  
"_I see," Kakera replied, seeing there was no arguing with her older sister. She played a few more moments before speaking again. "Well, you have my blessing despite my bitterness towards him. I know you'll be happy."_  
_Rinrei quietly listened to her sister's harp, the music passed down from their mother. The flower fields before them and the lush pomegranate trees behind them gave them the perfect sanctuary from the towers of Heaven._  
"_What do you suppose the mortal world is really like, Kakera?"_  
_Kakera finished the song and then played the lullaby she would hear in the dark of her childhood nights. She let the grace of her mother's hands flow through hers as she delicately sounded each note. She'd never really seen her earthly home, not alone a real human._  
_"You know, as long as I can have my harp and the wind to soothe my soul, I'm pretty sure that anywhere on Earth is better than here."_

Sanzo slowly opened his eyes to see the simple roof the cabin, soft moonlight floating in from the window. Seeing everyone else was asleep, he gathered himself up and entered the forest atmosphere. The river quietly babbled by in the air, small traces of morning beginning to bring the color of the world back.  
"Sanzo," a gentle voice said behind him, and he turned to see her and Goku.  
"Sanzo," Goku added softly, surprised he was alive.  
"What's the matter? You have a nightmare or something?" Sanzo said in a grumpy voice to Goku, not bothering to look straight at the monkey.  
Kakera rested her hand on Goku's shoulder and slowly walked to Sanzo, but she fell in front of him, the weakness catching up to her.  
"I'm sorry…I couldn't get the scripture back from him," she paused as she looked up at him with her weak eyes, but found courage in her voice. "I really tried."  
Sanzo's memory took him back to glimpses of the battle she had with Homura to get the scripture back, but most spots were black. When the flashes faded, he looked down at her.  
"I caught us some fish…I wanted to share them with you but you…," Goku stammered, struck with emotions as he wiped away tears he never saw coming.  
"Goku," Hakkai's voice said behind him. "Give them a little space."  
"Oh…right," Goku said quietly and stepped back with Hakkai and Gojyo.  
Kakera, not taking her eyes off Sanzo, tried to stand again, but failed and fought back the harsh bite of defeat her body was giving her.  
"So why did you try to fight him?" he asked, sick of the silence.  
She finally found the strength to stand, trying to keep her legs firmly planted in the ground. "Let's just say…he's startin' to piss me off too."  
In only the few days she'd known him, she saw him smile as he held her shoulders to help her stand. "Well, let's just fight back then."  
She smiled back, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Fine, just don't hog all the glory, or I'm going to have to reopen those wounds for you."  
He kept that smile for a moment longer, as if it was just for her from what she wondered, but he let it drop and started walking back to the others.  
"Come on little lady," Gojyo said, picking her up in his arms.  
Goku couldn't help but snicker at Kakera's situation, as Gojyo couldn't help but try and feel lucky with their female companion. But after a few good smacks to the kappa's face, she folded her arms and got into her usual space between Hakkai and Sanzo.  
'Where's that fan when I really need it?' she sighed to herself as Jeep revved up and drove the next destination.  
A/N: Just to let you guys know, I'm going to use the movie next for a few chapters to make things…interesting…Again, thanks for you awesome reviews and patience.


	14. Ensnared

A/N: Okay, for everyone who likes/loves this story, there are two things I need for you guys to know. One: I have gone through the first 8 chapters and edited some things and sentences that would make the four sound OOC as I've checked. Like in Resolution Pt. 2, when Kakera summoned that bird, I actually make it so that doesn't happen but she does something similar of what she did to Homura in the previous chapter. Two: You guys probably don't remember Sanzo's sudden hatred towards Kougaiji in the beginning. I know they really don't hate him, but as this story will be further explained in the next chapter, this unknown hatred will be clarified and Kougaiji's transformation will be revealed as well. I got a review from someone who pointed a few matters on what I needed to fix, so in case you guys want to refresh your memory and go back a few chapters, that's okay. I just wanted to let you guys know of that stuff. shuts up

Chapter 13

Ensnared

Just like the usual exercise routine, the five stood before a massive army of demons in a desert, the sun setting behind the army. The captain was standing on a large catapult, and there lines of archers and swordsmen. When the army stopped running towards them, they all rolled their eyes as the captain spoke.

"We finally meet, Genjo Sanzo. This is as far west as you go!"

They looked around the army again, trying to keep a straight face and prepared themselves for another helping of healthy play with demons.

"It's so rare to have demons address us by our proper names," Hakkai said.

"Then I guess we shouldn't be too hard on them," Goku said lazily, arms behind his head.

"Screw that, annihilate them," Sanzo retaliated to the monkey.

'At least they're not making me watch the Jeep this time,' Kakera's mind mumbled, sharpening her dull claws and boot heels.

"While you're being so formal about it, do you mind if I call you "big dumb ass?"" Gojyo wondered, cigarette still hanging in his mouth.

"Call us what you want! Against these odds, those will be the last words you ever say!" the demon captain threatened.

Sanzo, with his finger in his ear, just grunted in annoyance. "Morons… if we're all inept on in the introductions, meet Mr. Banishing Gun!" He fired, hoping to piss the demons off and lose concentration.

Just as the priest expected, the bullet landed inches away from the demon captain's face, and also like he thought, it only made things worse. The demon captain growled and made fists at the party.

"You're really asking for it! Let's see how cocky you get once an army's on top of you! Demons attack!!" Sure enough, the army began to assemble and charge to meet their prey.

"Sure took them long enough," Hakkai said after a silence.

"Let me guess, we're supposed to kill as many as possible, am I right?" Gojyo asked sarcastically, his staff twitching for action.

Goku lifted his hand and his trusted staff appeared. "Then let's get some food."

Kakera finished sharpening her right hand claws and looked around for a group to play with. "For once I agree with you. All this cocky crap is making me hungry." She also smiled to herself, thrilled to polish her new power since the fight with Homura.

The battle soon was in full swing! Demons disintegrated everywhere, burning like unholy species. Shots were fired, chains whistled and screams could be heard from miles around the barren desert.

Gojyo was entertained, watching his staff's chain and crescent dance along the battlefield, hacking every demon it came in contact with. He lit up another cigarette, knowing it would be a long night.

"We've got ten thousand demons and not a single looker in the bunch," he said with minor disappointment. He heard a snap behind him and he saw from the corner of his eye, that Kakera kicked the demon, sending him into Gojyo's chain. "Sorry pal, I only allow hot women to make a move on me."

"AND THAT WOMAN'S NOT ME!" Kakera reminded him as she slapped a demon, and then stabbed it in the chest with her heel.

Hakkai focused his powers, sensing his chi start to build within his hand. "I would suggest that we all try to resolve our problems differently but-," he paused; releasing his power and letting it roll like a deadly bowling ball into the field of demons. "Somehow I got the feeling that…it would be a waste of time."

"Hey, Hakkai," Sanzo said out of nowhere, now back-to-back with him.

"Do you need something?" Hakkai wondered.

"Is it just me, or are you getting more insufferable than usual?" Sanzo asked the man, stepping to the side and firing off a couple "sitting ducks" behind Kakera.

"Hey, got off my case! Who said you could crash the party?" Kakera yelled back, getting into an unusual stance. With one leg supporting her weight and the other spinning like a knife, she and her claws were busy shredding the wailing demons like a ballerina from hell. Sanzo watched for a second, wondering where her power was coming from.

"You think so?" Hakkai chuckled, bringing the priest to reality.

Sanzo snapped back into reality, sensing the yell of demon charges growing stronger, so he quickly reloaded and aimed. "No big deal, but your personality can be a bit to take sometimes. I just thought you should be aware of it is all."

"Thanks that for that," Hakkai added, turning his head. "Because we don't want to have another extreme personality like you two."

"Hm…," the priest mumbled, firing three fatal shots. "I don't know who you're referring to."

As the demon captain continued to watch in shock as the five companions showed domination over his army, he couldn't help but notice Kakera's power. He remembered the grave warning his master gave him, so he decided to bring out the next step in his strategy, growling in frustration.

"Damn it! Commence aerial attack!" he yelled to the archer general.

"FIRE!" the man over the archers commanded, letting the arrows rein over the sky.

Swords came down on Goku, hoping to taster his flesh, but he jumped from the "brink of oblivion" with ease and used his kick and staff to get the demons out of his face. But his senses flashed a warning in his head, and he jumped to the side to avoid a thin veil of arrows.

Not too far from the monkey, Gojyo copied him and used his staff to tilt it up and down to deflect the arrows and make them impale the demons. He figured it was a fair trade for them, since they provided him with an exercise that he would benefit him in the next town.

Sanzo, also a few yards away, picked up the chain of reactions to the sky attack. "Sanzo!" Hakkai yelled behind him, now appearing before him, enough time to raise his shield to snap the arrows in half.

"Damn it…this can't be!" the demon captain growled, seeing his army wouldn't be able to stand much longer. So he turned to his men, hoping this jump would work. "Fire the catapult!"

"But sir, won't we hit our own?" a demon soldier questioned.

"I-I don't care, do it!" the demon captain snapped.

With the captain still on his porch of the catapult, his men prepared the massive ammunition. The captain smiled, seeing if this would slow down the warning his master gave him.

"FIRE BOULDERS!"

Though Hakkai thought he would get a break, he noticed something bigger falling towards them. The impact almost sent him on his knees, but he summoned up more of his power to keep himself together.

He kept taking more hits from the fiery boulders the catapult was firing, but eventually he realized he was running out of breath.

"There's too many of them," Hakkai grunted.

"Step aside," Sanzo said, hand on his companion's shoulder.

"Are you sure, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked, shocked at his comment.

"When nats buzz at my face, I can easily swat at them as much as the next guy," Sanzo told Hakkai, pointing his gun at the next batch of falling boulders. "Okay Hakkai, drop it."

"Okay, if you say so," and the shield was dropped.

Sanzo calmly shot at least six shots and the boulders were shattered by the small bullets, making the sky into a mouth of spitting fire. Bits of the boulders fell upon the demon, like a god smiting the unworthy.

"They're pursuing them, I cannot let them win!" the captain said to himself, but the sound of running feet made him look up to see Goku and Kakera running towards him.

After a few seconds of his glance, Goku threw Kakera into the air and the girl disappeared. The captain started to sense fear, now that his master's plan had failed and he would be the one to pay.

"They're coming this way, attack!" he yelled nervously.

To his right, he soon noticed that something too fast to see was destroying their catapult. He nervously jumped out of the way of the falling debris of the weapon. When everything stopped falling, he saw Kakera and Gojyo standing proud. She had her right arm rested on his shoulder while he lit another cigarette, a hungry look in her eyes.

"Hey Hakkai," Gojyo said as he put the cap on his lighter. "How far did you say the next town was again?"

"Yeah!" Goku echoed, the demon captain turning to see him sitting on the debris of the catapult. "I'm so hungry; I could really go for some meat buns."

"Exactly," Kakera joined in, feeling the adrenaline slowly fade away. "All this unnecessary testosterone has revved up my appetite." She flashed her claws at the demon for fun, and then put them away.

The captain started to step back, realizing now that he'd cut the wrong deal with the wrong person. He may have been guaranteed a handsome pay and go home unharmed, but he decided to screw that and leave.

"You haven't won yet," he muttered nervously, but when he turned around he saw his executioner glaring at him with his weapon.

"Is that right? I'm afraid I beg to differ," Sanzo hissed back.

"Be careful where you aim that gun, priest," the captain threatened, back away again, but now looking at someone else. "Don't think this is over yet, this is nothing compared to what our friends have in store for you. No matter where you go, we'll track you down and…"

His speech was cut off when he felt a pair of claws enter his neck, cursing Kakera in his mind. He tried to wiggle free, but he soon realized she was holding him above the ground…as a target.

"Track this," Sanzo growled, gun clicking. "Moron." His gun was fired.

* * *

A deep red moon hung in the black sky as Hakkai continued to drive the party further out of the desert.

"What an evening," he said calmly. "We even have a full moon to boot."

Goku, his arms behind his head again, got up and sighed at the sky. "I could care less about the stupid moon. Just how much further anyway?"

"Well, I'd say it's about…," Hakkai tried to say.

"Alright, what is it?" Sanzo had to ask.

Hakkai noticed that Sanzo was getting worked up about him trailing off, so he just put a shy hand behind his head and turned to the priest and staring Kakera.

"Oh, it's nothing for you guys to get worked up about. But I think I may have gotten us all lost," he confessed, laughing nervously.

"Ha ha ha my ass! There's no way I'm camping out in the woods without a woman again tonight," Gojyo hissed, not expecting a smack with his own staff.

"If you use that as an excuse make a move on me in my sleep one more time, I'll make sure the back of this jeep is the last thing you'll ever see!" Kakera yelled, standing on her seat and glaring down at the half-breed, now rubbing his head.

Gojyo shook his head from the shock and the impact, looking at her and speaking through clenched teeth, trying to keep control.

"Give me my staff back…Kakera, and I'll go easy on you."

"Why don't you ask me nicely…and I won't kick that perverted ass of yours off this ride with your own staff," she mocked him coldly, a firm hand on the staff.

"There's no restaurant out here...," Goku complained, after gathering himself from laughing so hard. He sat down as the jeep was stopped and Hakkai started examining the map.

"That's odd…according to this map, we should be outside the city limits," Hakkai said quietly, confused by the map.

"Where did it go?" Goku asked randomly.

"I swear, is there a single wrinkle in that brain of yours?" Gojyo wondered sarcastically, now focused on the monkey.

"What're you yelling at me for? It's the town's fault it's lost!"

"You prove positive a person can't think on an empty stomach, and your stomach is always empty!" Gojyo yelled, grabbing Goku's face.

"Oh yeah, well maybe we wouldn't have gotten lost if you used those worthless antennas of yours!" Goku snapped back, the fight beginning.

"I thought I told you to never utter those words around me again…" To the others, this fight was just another usual routine that was best left ignored.

'Now this is priceless entertainment,' Kakera's mind mumbled impatiently.

She figured, while the stupid fight about intelligence and name calling was going, she would keep points for whoever won. She thought that would be a way to get the two to shut up for good. But Sanzo had to fire his gun and scare everybody…

"You want a goodnight's rest? I'll put your lights out forever, you bastards," Sanzo hissed, his tone making Kakera lazily turn around.

'And yet Gojyo wins again, what a shame,' she concluded.

Within the blanket of the dark woods, a girl kept running and running. She glanced back every few seconds, and the demon kept following, until she slipped. She ignored the quick pain in her knee and kept going, until blinding lights reached her eyes and dropped to the ground to catch her breath. The demon screeched in the distance, and she didn't want them to become victims as well.

The five looked at her with surprise, wondering why she was running. But she soon caught her breath and started to run again.

"Get out of here!" she screamed and ran.

Just as she picked up speed again, the five heard the screech again and they saw a demon with wings fly down towards them.

"What the hell is that thing?" Goku asked, now alert.

"Goku…I do hope you like fried chicken," Hakkai suggested, revving up the engine.

"It's alright," Goku answered with a chuckle.

"Or would you prefer cream minced chicken lightly sautéed?" Hakkai added.

"Even better!" Goku said excitedly, his thirst for action rising.

"How about sukiyaki?" Hakkai asked, turning the gear and making the jeep speed backwards.

"Now you're talking!" Goku yelled in victory, seeing it fly lower.

The four hung on tightly as the car began to speed up backwards, the demon like bird heading straight for them, hungry for a satisfying meal. Its screeched, combined with the squealing of the tires, made the noise around them almost unbearable.

Gojyo spotted the girl not too far ahead, so when he knew the time was right, he picked her up. "I'll take care of the breast and thighs," he told Hakkai, referring to the bird.

"Alright then, I guess its Goku's job…," Hakkai paused, making the jeep spin to distract the bird. "To carve up the bird!" After a couple of spins the jeep stopped, and the demon flew higher.

"Wait a second; you guys haven't been talking about that thing, have you?" Goku asked nervously. "There's no way that thing will fit in a pot!"

Kakera carefully stood up; trying not to stay balanced and took out her claws. "If you're too scared to get your hands dirty, then I'll do it!" she suggested, the demon now diving down.

"She's right, since when did you become so fussy?" Gojyo wondered, still holding the girl. "Fry it already!"

Goku and Kakera almost lost their balance as Hakkai made the jeep swerve to the side to avoid a side attack from the bird. Luckily, they sped up for the woods, trying to get off their backs.

"So, what's your name?" Gojyo asked the girl, changing the subject.

"Uh…Houran," the girl replied quietly.

"Ah, Houran…pretty name for a pretty girl, you doing anything later?" Gojyo wondered with a smirk.

"Gojyo now's not the time! Can't you hit on her later?" Goku yelled in frustration, seeing the demon bird gain speed behind them.

"Look, you do your thing and I'll do mine! What's taking you so long anyway?" Gojyo pressed.

"If you're in such a hurry, you do it!" Goku snapped back.

"Look, I'm in the middle of something right now. So if you don't you mind, a little privacy," Gojyo suggested, as if Goku was a kid spying on him.

The demon continued to gain speed, screeching in frustration and hunger at the speeding jeep. Hakkai, tired of the fighting, drove faster. "I guess I'm gonna have to hold down the clock until those two stop bickering. Hold on!" The speed, picking up, made Kakera lose balance and land in the back on top of Goku.

"Hakkai, I was thinking…," Sanzo began.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, we've become too involved in this," Hakkai reminded him, trying to keep control.

"Yeah, the girl stays!" Gojyo hissed.

"So, does that mean I get to feed you to the bird now?" Kakera asked with tight fists.

"Shut up, Kakera!" Gojyo snapped at her, trying to hide embarrassment.

The demon let out more screech, and Goku brought out his staff in anger. "I don't know, this guy looks too stringy for my taste," he told them, keeping balance as the demon headed higher above the trees.

"You know, I don't this guy's going away anytime soon! We might to actually do something about it!" he yelled, trying to make them listen.

"Sanzo?" Hakkai asked.

"No," he immediately replied.

"Come on, Sanzo…"

"No, it's not my problem."

"But all you have to do is…"

"Look, you guys got yourselves into this mess," Sanzo admitted. "I had nothing to do with it."

"But don't you think he's a little bigger than a fly?" Hakkai pressed.

"He's hungrier than I am!" Goku added.

Kakera rolled her eyes, seeing nothing was being done. She pulled out her father's scriptures, getting the idea that might solve their problems. 'This better work…just to make them shut up.'

"Come on Sanzo, just one shot, for me?" Gojyo asked simply.

Sanzo stood up in defeat, gun in his hand and a pissed off look. "Damn, alright, but you owe me. Out of the way, Kakera." She moved and fired two shots, but the bullets did nothing.

'He's a tad more resilient than I thought,' he said to himself.

"Should I slow down, you seem to be having a little trouble back there," Hakkai said, turning to watch.

Sanzo threw down his gun, pissed he had to use his last resort. "Don't bother, this will do just fine." He grabbed Kakera's hand, helping her back in the front. They closed their eyes and began to concentrate together.

"_O holy scripture, I call upon your power to send this creature back to the darkness! Makkai Tenjo!"_

The Holy Scriptures flew up towards the demon, but it simply dodged them and flew up higher to escape the possibility of a trap. Both stood in shock to see even their own power didn't work.

'He dodged the Makkai Tenjo,' Sanzo said, speechless.

'This is no normal demon,' Kakera figured, putting the scripture away.

"You see, that wasn't so bas was it?" Hakkai reassured them.

"Yeah, you two are pretty good at swatting flies," Gojyo said with a smile.

"I didn't see you chanting any sutras!" Sanzo challenged.

'Oh well, I can always send Gojyo back to where he came from is he decides to cause more racket,' Kakera thought, sitting down to gather her senses.

"So, what am I supposed to eat now?" Goku whined.

"Thanks, I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't run into you all," Houran said, ignoring the monkey.

"Think nothing of it, the least we could do. So, where do you live?" Gojyo asked, still mesmerized by her beauty.

"Not very far, but the house actually belongs to my master," Houran replied.

"Master? Lucky guy," Gojyo smirked.

"His mansion lies beyond the suspension bridge ahead, you can't miss it. You've done so much for me, but I'm afraid we can't offer you much beyond our gratitude," Houran said shyly.

"Do you have food?" Goku piped up with hope.

"Of course!" Houran assured him with a smile.

"What about a nice bed and some company perhaps?" Gojyo asked, moving closer to Houran, which made her speechless.

"Then I'm sold, let's go!" Goku shouted, happy to get food.

"I'm so there," Gojyo said in a relaxing voice.

"What do you say, you two?" Hakkai asked, eyes on the road.

"You guys do what you want," Sanzo grumbled.

'I don't like this,' Kakera thought, seeing the bridge ahead. She could sense a strange aura in the area, and she felt the charka on her forehead begin to burn. 'It must be one of them, I just know it…'

"Are you okay, Kakera?" Hakkai asked, seeing her tensed up.

"It's…It's just a migraine, stop worrying," she hissed with pain.

"O-Okay, if you say so," Hakkai said quietly, turning his eyes back to the bridge as they started to cross.

"Hey Hakkai, are you sure this bridge is safe?" Goku asked nervously.

'Pansy,' Kakera hissed, the pain intensifying.

"I'd say it is…probably," Hakkai replied with a simple smile.

"What do you mean by probably?" Gojyo demanded.

"I mean, we probably won't die," Hakkai told them again, laughing for a second. "Okay, here we go!" The jeep started to pick up speed, making the old wood keeping the bridge together tilt and swing.

"Hold on, Hakkai!" Goku yelled in fear, holding on to the side.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Gojyo snapped, but they reached the ground and the two sighed of relief. "Jeez, don't scare us like that, Hakkai." But the man driving at his stunt and they kept driving on, into the area that would ensnare and destroy.

* * *

"Looks like we just missed them," Kougaiji said, looking at the scene.

"Well, that's what they get for not waiting for our orders," Dokugakuji added, sword hung lazily over his shoulder.

"They were completely wiped out," Yaone said to herself.

"He wasn't the type to attack on his own like this," Kougaiji said with a low growl. "There's nothing more to do here, let's head back."

"Hey, what's that?" Lirin asked, pointing and eyes wide. The three turned back just in time to see the demon bird fly down towards them, the hunger making the eyes glossy with madness.

"What do you make of that?" Kougaiji asked with quiet shock.

"Whatever it is, it looks pretty big," Dokugakuji said, sword ready as the demon began to dive down faster.

"You don't think it's after us, do you?" Kougaiji asked them, not liking their situation.

"I don't care what it is, let's just wipe it out and be done with it!" Lirin yelled in frustration, seeing nothing was being done.

"What should we do?" Yaone asked the other two men.

'So, they left me out of the fun this time,' Kougaiji hissed, feeling the adrenaline pumping inside him. 'I don't like this at all.'

* * *

"WOAH! That's a big…house," Goku said with amazement as all six stood before the enormous mansion.

"It's this way everyone, Master won't mind. I'm sure it'll be nice to have some company in this place," Houran said, leading them closer to the large double doors.

"YAHOO, LET'S GO EAT GUYS!" Goku exclaimed, jumping around.

"Just don't embarrass us like last time. Leave some for the rest of us," Gojyo reminded the monkey, the time a few days back when Sanzo and Kakera were injured.

"You're just too slow," Goku said, running inside.

Hakkai walked forward, but something told him to look back. He saw that Sanzo and Kakera weren't following them, still as stone. "Nothing's bothering you two, is there?"

Sanzo looked at her, and she just nodded with little care. "I'll go help in the kitchen," she whispered and then joined the others.

"Sanzo, what's going on?" Hakkai asked again. "What's bothering you?"

Sanzo looked at him for a moment, not really wanting to answer. So he just put his head down and walked forward. "Not really. Why, do I look bothered?"

"Always," Hakkai said with a shrug, both entering the mansion.

Deep within the heart of the mansion, the culprit was laughing and making another paper airplane. The ground was a sea of carefully folded paper, the man's face proud of his creations.

He kept laughing as he continued to fold another, sensing the presence of the party enter his domain. "How long I've waited for you to visit, Genjo Sanzo. Now that you've finally arrived, I can show the finest- the finest hospitality. But for the time being, please, do enjoy yourselves," he whispered with an evil grin, thinking about the deal as he folded the wings.

Screams of terror and laughs of evil echoed through his mind as the three explained their ends of the deal, and he couldn't help but feel excited that it was his turn to experience his part of the deal.

"And then…," he paused to raise his hand. "Let fly!"

He slowly watched the paper fly into the endless sea of orange, feeling the powerful presence of his prey. 'It's only a matter of time…'

* * *

Dougakuji flew through the sky like a bird of death, bringing down his sword upon the demon bird. The bloodied pieces of flesh and feather landed heavily upon the earth, but after he landed with a victorious smile, the pieces disappeared and reassembled themselves.

"No way," Dokugakuji said breathlessly.

"Lord Kougaiji, did you see the way it just-," Yaone tried to say.

"I saw it, we got ourselves a shikigami," Kougaiji told them, the demon flying down to them once more. "I really hate those things."

Lirin, headstrong and hyper as ever, started to run towards the bird and jumped. She punched a hole through the demon, blood spattering the ground. But the broken, bloody pieces did the same thing as before.

"Wh-Why's it going away?" she said with a hiss.

"It's useless nicking at it like this," Kougaiji said, tired of the failed attempts of murder. "We have to combine our powers and take it out in one fell swoop." He turned to Yaone, an idea coming into his head. "Yaone, you figure out how to hold that thing in one place."

"Yes," she said firmly, picking up speed as Dokugakuji threw her into the air. Once she got the right altitude, she started throwing her bombs into the fake demon, hoping to bind it.

Kougaiji saw his opportunity and began to focus his powers, determined this would kill it. He held out his hand out flat, glaring at the bird that kept him behind.

"_Demon of darkness, divine shadow,_

_I summon your power to bestow my right hand, the power of night._

_Fiend of day, fiend of sun, I summon you to bestow upon my left hand, the light of fire, the power of light._

_Power of day…Power of night,_

_Combine your powers to send this creature back to Hell!"_

Just as Kougaiji expected, the summon was a success as the fire demon came to life and soared into the demon. With a fiery body and a soul to execute the unworthy, the demon took the bird into the air. Then dashing from side to side, it slowly destroyed the bird, until the body was drove into the ground until nothing remained but dust.

After the summoned fiend had vanished, Kougaiji examined the dust and found a paper airplane. The others quickly joined them, wondering what made it so strong.

"What do you make of it, Lord Kougaiji?" Yaone wondered.

"This paper airplane holds the heart of the shikigami," Kougaiji explained, opening the plane to be in shock to see the words written inside. "This spell is unlike anything I've ever seen before."

Kougaiji smashed the plane in his hand, realizing now that he had been left out, just he and the other had done to the third person. He tried to mask his frustration to his unknowing friends, but his eyes could tell the mistake he made of not showing up earlier to prevent the second's plan from going into play.

'Damn, there's nothing I can do,' he hissed to himself, standing up and facing the direction of the mansion. 'Let's just see if this experiment is worth fighting and dying over like Homura says it is.'


End file.
